Club Reopening Safety Plan

By webmaster Club News, Uncategorized

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally transformed our lives, businesses, and communities.
As we’ve been cleared out by the Baker-Polito Administration, we are thrilled to restart our group classes!
We worked hard to make sure that, once back to class, the guidelines for the Phased Reopening are met: the club was freshly painted and sanitized, social distancing signs placed on the floors, and new rules and regulations created and sent over to our members.

Member Safety Program

Zoom classes will continue for a period of time after re-opening, to decrease the number of fencers in the club, or for those who don’t feel comfortable enough to attend in person.
A face mask covering the nose and mouth is required to be worn at all times, including under fencing masks.
Mask must cover the nose and mouth. There is no exception to this requirement. We cannot accommodate those with conditions that would preclude wearing a mask.
All classes will run with a reduced number of students (up to 25, including the coaches).
Foot-work, drills, and target practice will be customized to make distancing possible.
Parents, please drop off your kids in the parking lot, and pick them up at the end of their program.
Fencers should arrive at the club as close to the start of their lesson/class as possible, and be picked up as close to the end of their class as possible.
Using a single point of entry, all staff and students are required to be screened daily before entering the fencing floor.
Please wait by the door if someone is ahead of you, and keep 6 ft distance, by following the marks on the floor.
Screenings include non-contact temperature checks (using a temporal thermometer), and screening questions (including about particular symptoms experienced in the past 24 hours).
Staff and students are required to wear a cloth face-covering whenever six feet of physical distancing is not possible.
Families should provide their children with a sufficient supply of masks for their child, to replace as needed.
The club can provide one in cases of emergency, but we’d appreciate those who bring their own.
Avoiding immediate contact (e.g., shaking or holding hands, hugging).
Avoid touching your face, eyes, or mouth with unclean hands.
All warm-up activity must be done in designated areas.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your elbow if you cough or sneeze.
Absolutely NO outside shoes on the fencing floor.
Please bring your fencing shoes and put them on in the hallway or in the waiting room, keeping 6 ft away from others, while wearing a facemask.
The shoe rack has been moved in the waiting room, by the window, for your convenience.
Follow the one-way signs for entering and exiting the fencing floor.
Touchless sanitizing stations are available throughout the club. Use it upon entry, and often during the class.
Hot water is now available in the restrooms, alongside touch-free soap dispensers.
Please wash your hands for the least 20 seconds when needed. Use sanitizer often throughout your session.
The changing rooms can be used by one student at a time.
We encourage you to arrive at your class/private lesson all suited up, if possible.
Horseplay among fencers will not be permitted.
Parents, please educate your children regarding any “jokes” or fake actions of coughing or sneezing with the purpose of “having fun”: there are absolutely not permitted, and object to expulsion from the club.
Reels should be sanitized with the provided spray sanitizer, and return to the box.
Fencers should NOT hand off the reel end to another fencer.
Do not share equipment such as weapons, body cords, fencing masks, gloves, or uniforms, with others.
The dock deck should stay open for fresh air. We’re preparing for winter by having installed a very efficient UV light sanitizing system, the same with the one Harvard research labs are using currently. We estimate to have it installed as soon as mid-September.
The waiting room has been equipped with Germ Guardian True HEPA Filter Air Purifier with UV Light Sanitizer, to disinfect the air.
We have cleaned/serviced our AC system, which uses air coming from outside and is recirculated every 10 minutes.
No snacks permitted on the premises at this time.
Bring your own water bottle and refill as needed.
No fountain use for drinking, only touchless bottle refill, please.
Cold water by the bottle is also available in the fridge.
For camps and clinics, snacks and meals should be brought from home, pre-packaged, or ready-to-serve in individual portions to minimize handling and preparation. No food sharing.
Door handles and common space surfaces will be sanitized every day, at the beginning and end of the classes, with EPA approved disinfectant and deodorizing germ fogger.
Weekly deep cleaning will be scheduled among coaches and staff.
Cash payment for private lessons should be prepared from home, in an envelope, and have your child hand it out to the coach.
Parents of younger fencers, please remind them of the importance of social distancing.
All beginner fencers will have the choice to loan, purchase, or rent-to-buy their own essential gear, take it home, and clean it after each class.
Wash and sanitize all your fencing equipment. Consult the manufacturer for proper cleaning instructions to avoid possible damage to equipment.
$100.00 deposit will be required to rent the gear, which will include: mask, glove, jacket, chest protector, and body cord.
Loaned gear will be delivered freshly laundered, and packed in plastic bags, and can be taken home after each class and clean.
The loaner gear should be returned, and the deposit will be refunded after the completion of phase 3, or TBD.
Electronic forms will be provided to all trials and new members.

All new and returning members are required to bring the signed COVID-19 Liability Release Waiver.

Easy submission by scanning this code:

Remember: Wash your hands, don’t touch your face, cover your cough!

_______________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer:
This Safety Program has been drafted upon the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, the State of Massachusetts health considerations and tools for Youth Sports and Summer Camps, and the USA Fencing clubs reopening recommendations.
As the knowledge surrounding COVID-19 is constantly changing, Olympia Fencing Center does not guarantee or take any responsibility and liability as to the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of the information contained here.
Students/members traveling out of state or showing any signs of sickness will be sent home. They will only be re-admitted with a negative corona test, a doctor’s approval note, or after two weeks of self-isolation from the day of dismissal.
The student can continue classes via Zoom during this time.

Children with an allergy need to bring a doctor’s letter confirming the symptoms are allergy-related.

Full disclosure of possible illness from families, the coaching team, and staff are required.

Help us keep our fencing community safe and healthy!
06/10/2020

Appendix