Coronavirus Updates

20th August 2020 – Update

The Scottish government’s announcement today held plenty of good news for us – indoor non-contact sports can reopen on Monday the 31st of August! (source)

There will need to be a limit placed on the number of people who can attend any single session. However, the government has not yet released these rules, so we cannot yet say what this limit will be. Presumably this information will follow soon.

Archery: should be able to reopen on Monday the 31st of August. You will need to book your place in advance – we will not yet be able to accept people “just turning up”. Please visit our online shop to book your place (bookings will probably open next week, once we know how many places are available in each session).

HEMA: should be able to reopen on the week beginning Monday the 31st of August. There will probably be a revised schedule of what classes are taking place on what evenings, and there will probably need to be a booking system implemented. More information will be forthcoming as soon as possible.

Blacksmithing: is an activity that is not covered by any physical guidance. However, if we treat it as an indoor physical activity, then we should be fine to reopen at the same time as gyms and indoor sports, meaning that blacksmithing activities could feasibly reopen as of Monday the 31st of August. Please contact us by email to arrange your sessions.

If you bought a voucher before lockdown began, we will extend the expiry date by five calendar months, so that you will still be able to redeem the voucher with us.

There will be more updates here as soon as we have slightly more guidelines from the government about how we will be allowed to reopen.

30th July 2020 – Update

Today’s announcement by the Scottish government is quite frustrating, but at least it gives us a clear indication of when we are likely to be able to open again.

Archery: should be able to reopen on the 14th of September. (It might be able to reopen sooner, towards the end of August, if coronavirus cases remain low enough to warrant an accelerated reopening.)

HEMA: should be able to reopen on the 14th of September. (It might be able to reopen sooner, towards the end of August, if coronavirus cases remain low enough to warrant an accelerated reopening.)

Blacksmithing: should be able to reopen on the 14th of September. (This is an activity that is not covered explicitly by any of the official guidance. We figure that if we treat it like an indoor physical activity then we can’t go too far wrong in terms of our legal obligations.)

Our shop: is already sort of open. Our online shop is still open and we can post things to you relatively easily; if you would like to buy something in person, on our premises, we ARE allowed to arrange this, so please contact us and arrange a day and time to meet us at the venue to make the purchase.

We were preparing our venue for reopening in August, so the venue is almost ready for people in terms of having sanitising stations, floor markings, and all that jazz. We will be continuing to look after the venue and make it ready for people once reopening is permitted – it’s just a delay of another few weeks.

Is there anything that can be done to help support the Centre at this time?

Yes, thank you for asking. Spread the hype and make sure everyone knows that we are not too far away from being able to reopen 🙂 the more people you tell about us, the more people who will come and give it a go, the more interesting and fun it will be for all of us!

Another option is to make a donation to us, that we will be putting towards making sure the venue is able to reopen immediately upon receiving permission to do so, and that we have all the necessary equipment in place to keep it all healthy and clean for everyone. This would be incredibly helpful right now.

10th July 2020 – Update

Our venue is still not yet allowed to reopen. However, our indoor sports (archery and HEMA) and the backsmithing will be allowed to reopen during Phase 3 (which Scotland entered on the 9th of July). This means that we are on the final leg towards being able to reopen!

However, all these activities are part of the group of activities and businesses where the reopening date is “to be confirmed – not before 31 July”, meaning that we cannot open for these activities in July. We expect that it will probably be early to mid August when we can start back up again.

In the meantime, we are making our plans and buying the necessary equipment so that we will be able to reopen immediately upon receiving permission to do so, and so that the experience will be clean and safe for everyone.

We have been receiving a number of questions about this, so here are a few answers to common questions:

Do you know when you will be able to reopen?

No, not yet. The Scottish government has said that it will not be in July, but we expect that it will probably be in early to mid August. It’s coming, just a little more patience required from all of us!

Will it be the same schedule as before?

Some of our schedule will remain the same, but we will need to change up some of it. We will make an announcement once we have finalised the schedule for reopening.

Will masks be required?

Yes. At least for the first month or so, we expect that everyone will need to wear facemasks while visiting the Centre for any activity.

What about vouchers and session passes with an expiry date?

Don’t worry. All vouchers and session passes with an expiry date will be extended by the length of the lockdown, so you will not miss out.

How many people will be allowed to attend each session, and will we need to book in advance?

We don’t know how many people will be allowed in any given session, because the government has not yet released their rules about this. We are working on the expectation that we will only be allowed to have 6 people in a class, including the instructor.

We will be implementing online booking for every activity, so HEMA classes will now need to be booked in advance, just like archery. This seems like it is going to be one of the requirements mandated by the government.

Is there anything we can do to help support the Centre at this time?

30th March 2020 – Update

Our venue is still closed during the current lockdown, and we expect at least another two weeks like this – the government’s lockdown announcement one week ago was to be revisited after three weeks, so it will probably be around the 13th of April before anything new can be announced.

However, we have received a few questions that we would like to answer.

What about the expiry date on my voucher or session pass?

We will be happy to extend the expiry dates on all outstanding vouchers and session passes by one calendar month. If this isn’t enough, for whatever reason, please get in touch with us and we will see what we can do.

Is private tuition going to be available again?

Not for the foreseeable future during lockdown, unfortunately. Since the government clearly wants full lockdown, and has required gyms to close and all indoor sports to cease, we feel it best to comply with the government’s intention.

Can I still hire the hall?

Not right now, unfortunately. The venue needs to be closed to comply with the government’s current rules.

Is there any way to contribute support towards the Centre?

Yes there is, and thank you to those of you who have asked about this. We have set up a donations page so that you can make a donation to help us keep things ticking over well enough to be able to reopen the Centre once lockdown lifts.

If you are able and willing to make a donation towards the club, we will be very grateful for the support. All donations will make it easier for us to pay the bills during lockdown and to be able to reopen afterwards.

22nd March 2020 – Update

The government made an announcement on Friday the 20th, mandating that “all indoor leisure and sports facilities, including gyms” should close for the foreseeable future. Therefore, we are going to close the vanguard Centre for sports classes and entertainment / leisure activities – in other words, we are not going to be open for archery, blacksmithing, or HEMA bookings.

Any current bookings will need to be rescheduled, and our staff will be in touch with you about this as soon as possible. Our sincere apologies for having to be in touch about rescheduling, after making preparations to remain open, but we need to follow the government’s advice and rules.

When do we start back up?

Right now, I don’t know. Sorry!

What about blacksmithing? That’s not technically a sport!

Playing the “but technically, that doesn’t really apply…” game with the government only works if one can afford enough lawyers to win that argument. We are going to play it safe and treat all of our public classes as “public leisure activities for entertainment” so that we run in a legally safe and above-board fashion.

This may change as we get a better idea of what is or is not allowed.

Is private tuition still an option?

Not right now, because we are not quite sure just yet how the new rules will need to be implemented regarding employees, working arrangements, and wages. We are still bound by employment legislation, and so as a responsible employer, we need to make sure our staff are getting the best treatment and support from us and from the government.

This may change as we get a better idea of what is or is not allowed.

Can I just rent the hall for a while, to film some videos or do something by myself?

This does seem to be permissible at the moment. Please contact us if you would like to arrange this. We would like to facilitate this sort of thing, with the caveat that as above, we are still bound by employment legislation, and we need to make sure our staff receive the best treatment and support from us and from the government; so if we can staff the venue for you to rent the hall, we will do that, but if we cannot, then I’m afraid we will have to say no.

Is there anything I can do to practise HEMA at home?

We will try to put up some new resources (written and video) over the next few weeks, so that you have something to do from home.

Other than that, please take a look at my website KeithFarrell.net and look at some of the HEMA lesson videos I have there, or read your way through my written articles, of which the following about solo drills may be most helpful right now:

You could also settle down with some fairly serious reading material on paper, purchased through our club’s online shop.

14th March 2020 – original policy

General comments

The current government advice about the coronavirus is that:

sports clubs and venues should stay open and continue running activities with small class sizes, and to make sure everything is as clean as possible;

you should feel able to continue attending sports clubs and activities without worrying too much UNLESS you are suffering symptoms (in which case stay at home), and make sure everything is as clean as possible.

Therefore, we are remaining open, and are putting as much effort into keeping the place as clean as we possibly can. Each of our activities will be undergoing some temporary changes in our efforts to make the Vanguard Centre as safe and healthy as possible during this time.

If you are feeling unwell and have any of the symptoms of coronavirus (high temperature, itchy eyes, coughing, shortness of breath), then please stay at home and begin self-isolation.

If you or someone you live with or see regularly is immuno-compromised in any way, or has underlying health problems (especially respiratory issues), or have regular contact with the elderly or other immuno-compromised or vulnerable people, please stay at home. We’ll miss you, but please don’t take the risk.

If you are feeling well and come to a session, and begin to develop symptoms during the session, please speak to an instructor or member of staff immediately.

When you arrive at the Centre, please wash your hands properly with hot water and soap, and follow any directions by staff members.

Archery

We are reducing the class size during archery sessions to keep it a bit more comfortable and to reduce the “press” of people in close proximity. It will now be even more important that you book your attendance through the website, to make sure that you have a place!

You will now only be able to book up to one week in advance, instead of two weeks. While of course we hope that no one will become ill after booking a slot, we hope to minimise disruptions by limiting how far in advance bookings can be made.

In each session, one or two targets will be reserved for regulars who have their own equipment. If you are using your own equipment, you may continue to remove your own arrows from the target (so that you are the only person touching your equipment).

In each session, the remaining targets will be for participants who need to borrow equipment. The instructor will be responsible for removing the arrows from the target (to reduce the chance of anyone transferring germs to the surface of the target and thereafter to other people’s hands or to the loaner equipment).

If you are borrowing equipment, please clean your hands before picking up any club equipment. Instructors may add “clean your hands” to the instructions given before allowing anyone to pick up a bow and advance to the shooting line.

HEMA

We encourage regulars with your own equipment to bring it to each session, and to keep it clean in between sessions!

Participants who need to borrow loaner gear may borrow swords, but masks and gloves will no longer be provided due to the difficulty at this time in keeping them sufficiently sterile between sessions. Masks and gloves can be purchased from our shop if you would like to equip yourself to be able to continue training with contact.

Sessions will focus largely on non-contact exercises (since not everyone will have masks), although participants with their own protective equipment may be allowed to make contact.

You will need to wear gloves (of any sort, even cheap gardening gloves will be fine) when handling any club equipment (sweaty hands are going to make it rather difficult to keep club swords sufficiently clean).

Please see this as an opportunity to work on improving your form, structure, and other important parts of your practice. Non-contact sessions are still immensely valuable, and the instructors and advanced students have the skills they do because of the number of useful repetitions they have done over the years – solo drills and exercises to improve form and structure are an important part of this kind of training!

Blacksmithing

Please wear gloves as much as possible during the session while handling tools or equipment.

If you cough or sneeze (or breathe heavily!) onto a tool or piece of equipment, please do clean it. If you cannot see cleaning materials easily available, please ask the instructor to bring some over so that they are close by.

Cancellations and refunds

We hope that none of our clients become ill. However, if you have made a booking of any sort, or are coming close to the expiry date of a voucher or session pass, and you worry about being able to attend due to illness or self-isolation, please do speak with a member of staff. We will do what we can to help so that you do not lose your money on the booking or voucher.