Category: Newsletter

Club News, Newsletter, Training

Update: Club Reopening

Dear Members,

Apologies for the lack of updates in the last weeks, it has been a time of change, both in terms of covid regulations, and in terms of new processes for the club. While we had returned to fencing, we also had to take a phased approach to reopening memberships due to limited space in our venue.

However, with the lifting of many restrictions, we are happy to announce that the club is open to all new members once again. To sign up for membership, please follow this link, which will allow you to request a direct debit mandate for monthly membership. Non-members will also be able attend Open Sessions by paying a £10 fee at the door.

New Fencer Guidance

While many restrictions have been lifted, and we no longer require fencers to book a space at the club in advance, some precautions are still in place, and these can be found in our new Fencer Guidance and Risk Assessment.

Please read these before attending a club Open Session or Class and be aware of their stipulations. If you have any questions, please email us.

Restarting Classes

EFC will be restarting U-18 Youth classes from Wednesday, August 25th, 2021:

  • Youth Foil – Wednesdays 6.00 – 7.30PM
  • Youth Sabre – Thursdays – 7.00 – 8.30PM

If fencers are interested in joining these classes, please follow this link, or email us if you have any questions.

New Class

Starting Wednesday, 25th August EFC will be running beginner plastic fencing classes, taking place every Wednesday from 6.00 – 6.45PM for 6 weeks.

These classes are aimed at introducing younger children to fencing in a safe and fun environment. Signups are open to any children in Primary 3 or older (ages 6-7), and are available at £70 per person for the 6 week course.

Due to space constraints at our current venue, we are able to offer just 12 places in this class, which will be allocated on a first come, first served basis via this registration link.

We will endeavour to process all new memberships and class registrations as quickly as possible, but please bear with us as we get the club underway again as we are dealing with an unusually high demand.

Best Wishes,
The EFC Committee

Club Dates, Club News, Newsletter

Newsletter #5 – July 2021

Open Sessions Resuming from 3rd August

We are very pleased to announce that Open Sessions will be resuming for EVERYONE twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Thursdays 19:15-21:45, from next week 3rd and 5th August 2021.

You will all appreciate that our club processes have had to change to be in line with Scottish Government and our Governing Body Covid restrictions. Therefore it is really important that you read the following information in full.

All fencers must hold a valid British Fencing Membership, our session numbers are limited and will therefore only be available to our existing EFC membership (those fully paid up prior to Lockdown 1, March 2020), all fencers must book a place at a session in advance, fencers must ensure they have all the necessary kit, and adhere to our COVID rules including keeping a 2m physical distance and wearing a facemask in communal areas.

Open Sessions

We are really keen to get our Open Session regulars (of all ages) back into the club for some non-coached electric sparring. Therefore our usual pre-Covid Tuesday and Thursday Open Sessions will resume from 3rd August 2021. These sessions are most suited to self motivated experienced electric fencers, with all their own kit. However any of our U18’s who have already been attending our restart sessions this year, and are in possession of an electric weapon, wires and a lame, are also invited to attend these sessions.

Session times have been tweaked slightly to allow for set-up and a formal check-in, and now start at 19:15. Please make sure you arrive promptly, and wait in the car-park until you are invited in to the building by a Coach or Club Official.

** Please Note: Our regular Wednesday Cadet Foil and Sabre Classes, and our Thursday Cadet Sabre Class will not resume until Wednesday 25th August. An email with details will follow later.**

Payment

We are restarting monthly membership, and ask you to please click on the link to Request a Direct Debit Mandate. We will check your details and send you a follow-up email with next steps within 24hrs.

Membership types are, Standard £40 or Concession £30 (School Kids and Students – with ID). Alternatively those that prefer can opt for pay-as-you-go fencing charged at £10 per each individual session they attend, payable via the booking system (includes booking fee).

British Fencing

It is a requirement of our Insurance and Sporting Governing Body, that all fencers must have a valid British Fencing Membership. If you don’t have one, or it expired during lockdown, you will need to join or renew your membership before you can book a place at one of our sessions.

** Please be aware that any EFC session bookings made without a valid British Fencing Membership will be cancelled. **

Kit

All fencers must bring with them everything needed to fence on the box, this includes all fencing whites, safety kit, electric weaponry, wires and a lame.

No club kit will be available to borrow on the night

Book your place in advance

Due to current C19 restrictions all attendance at sessions must be booked in advance. When your Direct Debit Mandate has been completed, you will be sent a link to the booking system. Priority booking will be given to Monthly Members until 9am on Sunday 1st August, after such time an email with a link to general bookings including pay-as-you-go will be sent out and bookings will be open for everyone.

Please note that bookings are on a first-come-first-served basis and we cannot guarantee you a place at every session. If at some point in the future demand for a session exceeds capacity, a priority booking system may be employed to ensure fair access for all fencers.

For sessions beyond 6th August it is our aim to have bookings open at least 10 days in advance of a session, and Monthly Members will be given a minimum 48hr priority booking window.

** If you cannot attend your booked session please cancel your booking with at least 48hrs notice, so that your place can be taken up by another fencer. **

I want to resume fencing at Open Sessions from 3rd August, what do I need to do?

  • Step 1, Ensure that you have a valid British Fencing Membership
  • Step 2, Click on the Request a Direct Debit Mandate link above
  • Step 3, Check your inbox for the DD Mandate email, and complete it asap
  • Step 4, Check that you have full Kit, and it still fits!
  • Step 5, Check your inbox for the link to the Booking System, and Book your place in advance
  • Step 6, Come along and Fence!

If you have any questions or need any further information please do get in touch, we are really looking forward to seeing you all back at the club!

Kind regards,
The Committee

Edinburgh Fencing Club

Club Dates, Club News, Newsletter, Training

Newsletter #4 – July 2021

Update – Resumption to Fencing

As we are sure you are all aware, Scotland has been in Level 0 Covid restrictions since Monday the 19th, and the committee is working hard to return to indoor fencing for all from August 3rd.

However, while we are keen to get back to fencing as quickly as possible, there are numerous considerations before we are able to do so. This includes updating risk assessments and hall setup in line with the new Scottish Fencing guidelines, updating our booking system and various other admin tasks. Not least of which is preparing our new direct debit system, which will allow us to collect memberships more effectively.

Rest assured that we are working as hard as we can to get everyone back to fencing safely and sustainably as soon as possible, and that we will be opening bookings, and memberships, very soon.

In the meantime, please keep an eye on your inbox for further updates.

Best Wishes,
The EFC Committee

Club Dates, Club News, Newsletter

AGM on Monday, 21 June, 7pm

EFC’s Annual General Meeting is held via Zoom on Monday, 21st of June, at 7PM. 
AGM turnout is vital to the future of the club, especially during these difficult times, so we hope to see as many members as possible there. Please check your email inbox (and spam folder, just in case) for the invite and the Zoom link to the meeting. If you haven’t received it, please get in touch via the club email inbox.

The new Club Constitution, a list of Motions, and the Club Fincances will be presented during the meeting. All documents are available for review in advance (links included in AGM email invite, please check or get in touch if you haven’t received it yet.)

We are looking forward to see our members at Monday’s AGM.

Best Wishes,
the EFC Commitee

Club News, Newsletter

Newsletter #3 – June 2021

AGM – New Constitution – Call for Volunteers

AGM

We are happy to announce that based on feedback in the Survey the date & time for the AGM has been confirmed as:
Monday, 21st June at 7PM.
Due to ongoing restrictions, the meeting will be held via Zoom, and all those eligible to vote will receive a joining link at least a week in advance.

It is our intention that everyone who was a member in March 2020 and who is over the age of 16 will be allowed to vote. For anyone under 16, one parent or guardian will be able to vote on their behalf.

An agenda and list of proposed motions can be found here. The floor will be open for speakers for and against all motions.

New Constitution

Flowing from our proposal to incorporate EFC into a charity, and to improve our governance generally, we have drafted a New Constitution for your approval. The new constitution may look large, but is actually relatively simple and we will give a full presentation of how it works at the AGM.

We are also happy to answer questions directed to club inbox in the meantime.

Call for Volunteers

We are delighted that so many of you volunteered your time in our recent Survey. However, the survey was anonymous, so we actually have no way of knowing who volunteered for what.

If those who volunteered in the survey – or any others interested – could email the club inbox we would be eternally grateful.

Looking ahead to next week, we will be publishing last year’s club accounts for your scrutiny and (hopefully) announcing a live online Q&A on the Constituion, Charity Status and the search for a Salle.

Until then, all we wish you all a very happy and sunny week.

Best Wishes,
The EFC Committee

Club News, Newsletter

Newsletter #2 May 21

Survey – Club Vision – Call for Volunteers

Dear Members,
please check your email (and spam folder) for this newsletter including links to the Survey, Vision and Roadmap (as mentioned below) and/or contact [email protected] for any questions and feedback!

As promised last week, we have more updates on the club’s direction and a survey asking for your input.

Survey

With the monumental changes of the past year, and the possibility of different demands from our fencers, we would be very grateful for your input via our Survey.

After more than a year without club fencing sessions for our adult fencers, and only very limited sessions for our U18s, we are eager to ensure we make the best possible decisions and  get everyone back to enjoying club activities safely as soon as possible.

Vision & Roadmap

Hand in hand with the Survey, the EFC Committee and Coaches are happy to present their Vision for the future of the club for discussion and approval at the AGM in June. The Vision is quite broad,  but we are also hosting a live Q&A on Zoom in the coming weeks to enable a more in depth discussion ahead of the AGM.

In the interests of transparency, we are also publishing our draft Roadmap for the Club.  This is to give members a sense of what committee will be working on in the coming months.

Call for Volunteers

As EFC embarks on an exciting new chapter, and we approach an AGM, we would encourage anyone with skills and experience in the following areas to contact the committee to volunteer or to consider running for club office at the AGM:

  • Finances
  • Legal advice
  • Grant application
  • Fundraising
  • Competition organisation
  • Communications and Social Media
  • Club kit maintenance

The continued success of EFC relies entirely on the benevolence of volunteers and we are grateful for any contribution.

Looking ahead to next week, we will be annoucing the AGM Date and publishing the New Constitution & past accounts. For now though, we wish you all a great week and happy surveying!

Best Wishes,
The EFC Committee

Club News, Newsletter

Newsletter May 2021

Vision 2021 – Salle Project & Survey – AGM

Dear Members,
With lockdown restrictions beginning to lift and the weather (hopefully) improving, EFC has a few exciting announcements to make!

Same Club – New Setup

Throughout the lockdown, EFC Committee and Coaches have been working on a set of reforms to the club, including a new constitution, vision statement and developing a set of fencing skill pathways.
Through these we will improve our transparency, organisation, and be more responsive to the needs of individual fencers. More details will follow over the coming weeks.

New Salle

We have also been looking into getting a dedicated fencing hall, available to the club around the clock. A venue exclusive to the club would allow us to offer consistent and expanded classes and coaching opportunities, and provide a whole range of new facilities to members.
We will be publishing a survey to gather more information about what members would like to see in a dedicated club hall in the coming week, so keep an eye on your inbox.

AGM

Long delayed by the pandemic, we are planning to have a club Annual General Meeting via Zoom in the near future. In advance of this we will present to members:

  • the new Club Mission Statement & Vision
  • a proposed new Constitution
  • the past year’s Accounts and next year’s proposed Budget
  • a live Q&A with committee and coaches to answer questions about the above

Full details of the AGM, agenda and voting rights will follow next week, but we will naturally provide at least 2 weeks’ notice of the Meeting and present all documents and proposals in a timely fashion.

In the meantime if you have any questions at all, please email [email protected]

The EFC Committee