Guidance on new Tier 4 Stay at Home – 20th December (England)

BF issues guidance on new Tier 4-Stay at Home and how it impacts fencing activities in England from 20th December.

On 19th December the PM announced a new Tier 4: Stay at Home alert level to come into effect in London and the South East from 00:01 on 20th December.  As part of these restrictions indoor leisure facilities are required to close to grass roots sport. Therefore no indoor fencing activity in any setting for adults will be able to take place. Indoor fencing activity for children will only be able to take place as part of the school curriculum or part of registered childcare activities, i.e. during PE lessons, after school club where the primary purpose is childcare.

You can check whether an area is in Tier 4  by clicking here.

The government guidance can be found here.

In summary:

• Sports clubs/facilities are required to close to grass roots sport
• No indoor fencing activity in any setting for adults will be able to take place
• Fencing activity for juniors will only be able to take place as part of the school curriculum or part of registered childcare activities, i.e. during PE lessons, after school club where the primary purpose is childcare.
• 1:1 training/coaching outside in an outdoor public place/outdoor venue (not private gardens) is allowed. Please note that using metal swords in an outdoor public space is typically not permitted under previous (non Covid-19 related) legislation.  Permission must be granted by the landowner/landlord/local authority.
• Fencing competitions will not be able to take place.
• The only exemptions to the above will be for designated elite athletes –  in fencing, this exemption will only be used in Tier 4 in exceptional cases to prepare athletes for the Olympic Zonal competitions as part of a BF managed elite programme (in line with the government’s Elite Return to Training guidance).

We will be updating our tiered guidance for activity in England here as and when any further guidance from Sport England is published here.

If you have any queries regarding this and other announcements please contact us using this form. Please note that we may not be able to answer your questions until we have received further clarification (which we will in the first instance publish on our website).

Please note that this guidance applies in England – people in  Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland must follow the specific rules in those parts of the UK.

As more information is released we will be updating our Covid-19 advice and guidance page over the next few days.

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