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COVID UPDATE: CHANGES FROM 19TH JULY
By Admin
18 July 2021 12:19 pm

From Monday 19th July, many of the government-imposed restrictions in England end and it is down to individual clubs, organisations and businesses to decide how they deal with the transition to normality at a time when COVID infections are on the rise across the nation.

While we’re pleased that we’re on a path to normality, Government and Sport England have made clear that although restrictions are being lifted, we’re still in the midst of a pandemic. COVID rates are rising and the numbers of people having to self isolate are increasing at an astronomic rate. Clubs are asked in the strongest possible terms to continue taking measures to mitigate the spread of the virus, with very little clear guidance or government support to do so. This is why you’ll see different rules in place from different clubs, organisations and businesses.

The self isolation rules will be relaxed in England from Monday 16th August so, with this in mind, this is what you can expect as a member of Bristol Karate Academy between 19th July and at least 16th August:

  • Maximum capacity in classes will increase but class sizes still be restricted: We’ll be increasing the capacity of our classes over the next four weeks, but please make sure you still book as early as possible, to make sure you have a space! With the school holidays typically quieter, we hope this change will mean that almost everyone that wants to train can do so whenever they like.

  • It’s still essential to book your classes: As we're capping class sizes, you’ll still need to book, however we’ve extended the period where you can book in advance. Monthly members can now book 10 days in advance, while ‘pay as you go’ members can now book 7 days in advance.

  • Partner work for all ages will return: We’re delighted to get back to partner work once again, however in most cases we’ll be restricting the number of partner changeovers for now.

  • Kiais are back: Much like kumite (sparring), kiais are an essential part of karate and with restrictions easing, we’ll kiai once again.

  • Masks should continue to be worn indoors: As requested by our governing body, you should continue to wear masks when not training.

  • Sanitiser stations will remain: We’ll still have hand sanitisers at our entrances and exits and we expect all those that enter to use them.

  • Temperature checks will go, but your self assessment should not: We are lucky to have responsible members that look out for themselves and others. While we’ll stop scanning foreheads at the door, you must not attend classes if either you’re showing COVID symptoms or you have been instructed to self isolate. We do not want to be the source of a local COVID outbreak and we do not want to have to close our doors for 10 days.

  • Class times will begin to revert to normal: Keep an eye on class times over the coming weeks as we’ll start to return to our usual schedule. 

  • We’ll be offering Zoom classes only in exceptional circumstances: In a situation where we have multiple regulars that are instructed to self isolate we may still offer Zoom classes on occasion. If you are interested in training on Zoom then get in touch and we will see what’s possible. We won’t generally offer Zoom options for one individual, due to the cost and challenge of doing so.

  • Spectating is possible but we actively discourage it for now: While COVID rates are high we would prefer to keep the number of people in our venues to an absolute minimum until at least 16th August. Parents of new starter children are of course very welcome to watch their child’s first class.

  • We’ll start to welcome new members once again: For months we’ve had to turn away new starters to almost all of our venues and we’d like to apologise to those that have been on our waiting list since the January. We’re now delighted to be able to start to welcome new members once again and we’ll be contacting everyone in the order that they first joined the waiting list.

  • We’ll follow the rules of our venues: If any of our venues ask us to follow particular rules then we will of course ask you to follow them. There’s currently nothing that’s different from the above that’s been requested by any of our venues.

Many of our members have has different levels of expectation for a return to normality and we also know that some of our members are more nervous about the risk of infection than others.

We believe we have a balanced approach: offering all of us a measured transition as well as a return to what feels more like the karate that we all fell in love with. If you have any questions or concerns then please feel free to get in touch.

See you in the dojo.