Last updated: 11.11.2022 – THIS PAGE HAS EXPIRED
This page will be updated in response to the changing situation with COVID regulations and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Important changes will be announced via News Posts. Before choosing to accept any selection and deciding to travel, participants must consider the information below, in particular noting the responsibilities that sit with the participant and with BF.
In respects of Covid, travel restrictions to many countries are easing. Despite this there are still calendar changes (postponements and cancellations) being notified to BF through the EFC and FIE as countries struggle to restart sport events.
In addition, there are security complexities in relation to travel abroad. Our decisions about participation of athletes will be led by advice from the UK Government and the BF Security Officer. This means, for example, that we will not currently enter athletes or teams into international competitions held in Russia or Belarus.
Whilst the UK government has minimal/no restrictions currently in place in relation to Covid, if you are planning to travel you should still regularly monitor these requirements Entering the UK – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Depending on the country you are visiting there may be different requirements in place to enter the country and event organisers may also place additional requirements on participants to test prior to arrival or on arrival at the event. You should make sure that you familiarise yourself with these requirements before you travel, checking the FCO website here and reading the competition invitation documents (these are often referred to as the ‘reglements’ and typically published on the FIE and EFC websites).
BF continues where possible to facilitate our athletes attending international competitions, where necessary updating and changing our procedures and the roles and responsibilities of participants.
BF publishes a list of nominated international competitions – these are international competitions that will contribute to ranking points (see rankings and selections). This will be subject to further changes in response to EFC, FIE and COVID/security risk assessments.
Please note that not all Senior World Cup and Grand Prix competitions will be nominated (ie contribute to points on the rankings). (IDENTIFIED SENIOR COMPETITIONS CHANGED TO NON-NOMINATED – BRITISH FENCING) BF will not necessarily prevent eligible athletes from travelling to non-nominated competitions but the risks (COVID, security) will be set out. (The Board of BF reserves the right to not enter a GBR squad to an event based on risk assessments).
(For information on the entry process for Non-Nominated – announcement here).
Where an event is nominated, selection will take place around 5-6 weeks before the event where possible. Selection announcements may be delayed if we have not been provided with the ‘reglements’ (this is the document published by the organisers with information about the competition, often a lack of reglements can indicate a possible postponement or cancellation).
If, 4 weeks before the date of the competition:
the event will be un-nominated. Selected athletes may still attend if the status of the country changes nearer the time. However, even if the status of the country changes there will be no ranking points and no administrative support (other than entering the athlete) from Head Office.
Please note that at any one point of time in the competitive season we are supporting 100s of members (athletes, parents, coaches) with trips to many different countries across the world.
BF as an organisation employ the equivalent of 16 full time people across all the areas that we work. We currently have the equivalent of 1.5 full time person dedicated to supporting international travel. Financially, unless we increase costs to travelling athletes, we are not in a position to recruit new staff members to deal with the increase in administration to support internationals, and continually monitor and communicate the changing requirements based on all the various factors (age, vaccination status etc etc). Thus there is a level of expectation around responsibilities that sit with all those participating. If any participant is selected/approved to be entered into a competition abroad the following applies:
BF responsibilities:
Individual Responsibility (or Parent in the event an U18 is travelling)
To Arrange:
FIE/EFC Covid Protocols
It may be that event organisers continue to implement protocols that require athletes and officials to stay in specific hotels and participate in competition-specific testing as part of a bubble system. In this scenario, we will attempt to secure accommodation in these hotels for travelling parents of U18 athletes and registered coaches and facilitate competition-specific testing (Please note that we will be strictly applying minimum standards for coaches concerning safeguarding and anti-doping training).
Coaches/Team Managers/Referees
Many of the officials that would normally travel with the team cannot necessarily take the risk that they will be quarantined abroad or on return to the UK. This may impact the availability of officials which may, in turn, impact the support available to athletes and the cost of travel to some competitions – particularly in the event of fines if we are unable to source referees.
We will do our best to appoint BF Team Managers (most likely to be non-travelling), Coaches and Referees to EFC Cadet events. We will be accrediting personal coaches for travel and will look to support referees on the BF Pathway Programme who wish to referee at these events for development purposes. Further information on this will follow, including updates on minimum standards (Criminal Record Checks, UKAD, SPC) and permitted expenses. We will be reviewing this position on a regular basis.
Additional COVID Protocols
Positive Tests (from 1st Jan 2022)
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