News – Edinburgh Fencing Club

EFC is MOVING!

What’s happening?

Edinburgh fencing club is about to move to a new venue – Meadowbank Sports centre. We have been operating out of St Thomas of Acquins for a number of years. Recently the School has been unwilling to allow us to store equipment on site and have offered us only limited opportunities for new hours. Edinburgh Fencing Club needs to grow and to do that we need more space. To facilitate this the committee has secured new hours at the newly rebuilt Meadowbank Sports Centre. From here we will run new hours and we will have a much nicer fencing environment.

At the time of writing the committee has secured the following days and times;

Tuesday 4pm – 10pm

Wednesday 4pm – 8:30pm
Thursdays 4pm – 10pm

The committee has managed to secure Hall 3 which is a purpose-built dance studio. It has a modern wooden dance floor. The hall is well lit, climate controlled and roughly the same size as the hall we currently use in St Thomas of Acquins.

If we have enough demand, we will look for additional time slots, however the sports centre is likely to become busy and if we do not quickly increase our utilisation it is likely that we will miss any opportunity to make the club available on additional days.

Where is Meadowbank Sports Centre?

This link will take you to the Google Maps location of Meadowbank Sports Centre.

Google Maps – Meadowbank Sports Centre Location

When is it happening?

Meadowbank Sports Centre is due to open on the 19^th of July. The committee is working hard to have the club ready to move on that date however be aware that we may need to delay the move.

How do I get there?

Car

The new stadium has parking. This is limited to 97 places on a first come first served basis. Parking is available in the streets around the stadium.

Please consult Google maps or your preferred satellite navigation system to help plan your journey.

Bus

Meadowbank is well served by Lothian Buses (see image).

If you are coming from Waverley Railway Station-Princes Street area, we recommend you get the 44 if you can. There is a stop outside the Apple store and also on Waterloo Place. This is the most direct bus service from the centre which avoids traffic issues at the top of Leith Walk. The journey time will be around 10 minutes.

Otherwise: 4, 5 and 26 offer a very frequent service over the hours we will be open. These buses will take around 15 minutes, depending on traffic, as they go around the top of Leith Walk.

Cycling

It is easy to cycle to Meadowbank from the Princes Street area. This is mostly downhill but you may find it a better experience to go up Waterloo Place and down Abbeyhill. There are some cycle lanes which cover the majority of the route. Bike racks are available outside the sports centre.

This journey will take roughly 10 minutes.

Walk

It will take 20-25 minutes to walk to Meadowbank from Princes Stret, this is mostly downhill.

Will there be any changes?

Access

Meadowbank operate gates at the entrance to the complex. Our impression is that Meadowbank are working on improving the door entry process. The current process will look something like this:

You will be issued with a lanyard and pass for the session that your membership covers. On entry you will present this to the staff at the reception desk and they will allow you through the gates.

It is the (responsible adult or) fencer’s responsibility to look after their given lanyard. We may charge for a replacement if you lose it.

Coaches will be issued with a fob that will allow them to let people through the gates. If reception is unmanned or you don’t have a lanyard a coach can let you in.
Those paying a drop-in rate or entering at another time will either be offered a one-time pass or be met by a coach.

Floor

Meadowbank have asked that we look after the floor in the hall. To that end we will have to lay down some rubber pistes to protect the floor from marks. We anticipate that this will mostly affect the epeeists as foil and sabre present much less risk. Members will be asked to help with the setup and tear down of the Club every night. It will be too much for a single coach or fencer to do.

This may no longer apply as Meadowbank have approached us with a solution to the floor problem.

What facilities are available?

Meadowbank is a new modern facility that is purpose built with modern sport in mind. A few highlights of the services that we will have access to:

New Changing rooms
Showers

Equipment Storage (for club equipment)
Lockers

These work like swim lockers. There are long lockers that might be useful for fencing bags. We will discuss using these with Meadowbank management. They are £1 per use (refundable).

Café

Although it is only open until 5pm at present.

The ability to hire additional meeting rooms and halls for meetings and events.

What should I do if I have any questions?

Speak to a member of the committee or a coach. You can also email [email protected]. We will get you an answer as soon as we can.

Competition Results

Competition Results: BRCs are back!

At the end of July six EFC foilists attended the Cadet & Junior ‘B’ BRC in Manchester, and last weekend saw an epeeist and a sabreur competing at the BRC ‘A’ Cadet & Junior Events in Hatfield.

Women’s Foil Competition – The Cadet & Junior ‘B’ BRC (Manchester), 24th & 25th July

Six EFC Women’s Foilists descended on Manchester for the British Ranking Competition. It was good to be back at a big event and everyone got at least 2 pools and a DE bout in each event. Everyone got a splendid pizza on Saturday evening too!

Cadet: Emma Hu 7th, Hannah Fielding 16th, Jackie Hu 20th, Anna Conlin 26th & Lily Graham 27th.
Junior: Emma Hu 19th, Hannah Fielding 27th, Sasha Htet-Marshall 28th & Lily Graham 29th.

Epee and Sabre Competition – BRC A Cadet & Junior Events in Hatfield, 4th & 5th September

Congratulations to our EFC fencers who attended last weekend’s BRC A Cadet and Junior Events in Hatfield. This was the first top level cadet/junior event following Covid.

Isaac McKerr made the quarter finals in Junior Epee after fencing his way through a busy field before meeting Hal Jones who narrowly defeated him 15-13. Isaac finished 6th which secures a top 8 place on the British rankings. Well done Isaac!

Griffin Manning competed in Cadet Sabre, his first ever British Ranking competition. He thrived on the pressure, and can’t wait to do it all over again next week at Nationals in Nottingham. Sounds like a brilliant start, Griffin!

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 News, Training

Fencer Guidance and Session Risk Assessment

We ask all EFC fencers to read the following two documents, Fencer Guidance and Risk Assessment. Please make yourself familiar with them, it is for all participants’ health and safety, including your own!

Club Open Session Risk Assessment – August 2021 Download

Fencer Guidance – Beyond Level 0 Download

The Fencer Guidance reads as follows:

Fencer Guidance – Beyond Level 0

Despite eased restrictions, you must not attend the club if you have any symptoms of Covid 19.

Beyond this, it is the responsibility of all club fencers, coaches, officials and spectators to follow the guidelines below and report any lapses to the club committee.

Sign-In

When you arrive at the club, every individual person attending will be required to sign in for the evening using a digital form. This form collects contact details for NHS Test & Protect.
A laptop will be provided for sign-in which will be cleaned between uses, but to avoid unnecessary queues, this digital form will also be made available to mobile phones.
Paper sign-in will not be accepted, anyone who does not sign-in digitally will be unable to enter the hall.
Non-members wishing to fence at an open session may do so, but must pay the £10 fee to the Session Covid Officer at the door. There will be no exceptions to this rule.
If you believe you should be exempt from wearing a mask, please contact the club Welfare Officer, or mention it to the Session Covid Officer at the door.
Please advise your coach or the session first-aid officer if you have any injuries or medical conditions that they need to be aware of. This can be done via email to the coach or club account or in person before the start of your fencing session.

Arrival/Departure

Your first action after arrival should be to fill out the digital sign-in form.
Parents/Guardians should drop-off and collect from within the car park without entering the building, unless they intend to be a spectator for evening. Parents/Guardians are advised to remain until their child has been admitted to the club.
Please wear your face covering at all times when not fencing or taking part in fencing-related physical activity, and maintain a social distance of at least 1m where possible and follow any guidance or signage about moving through the venue, such as one-way systems.

During the session

Face Masks & When to Wear Them

Wear a face covering before and after activity. To be clear, if you are between fights, you are not participating in an activity and you should wear a face covering.
Clean your hands before and after exercise, whenever you remove your fencing glove, whenever you enter or leave the room, and after every contact with shared equipment.

Sparring Groups

For open sessions, fencers will be grouped together at the start of the session, and should only fence with people in that group, not members of another group. Determining the makeup of these groups during an open session will be the responsibility of the Session Covid Officer, in consultation with the attending members.
There is no upper limit to the size of a “sparring group”, but the club recommends that groups be kept as small as possible.
Classes will be considered to be one “sparring group”

To illustrate with an example: A Tuesday Open Session is attended by 10 foilists, 8 epeeists and 6 sabreurs. After conferring with the fencers, the Session Covid Officer determines that the the groupings for the evening will be 10 foilists in Group 1, 8 epeeists in Group 2 and the 6 sabreurs in Group 3. A foilist from Group 1 should not fence with a fencer from Group 2.

Social Distancing

Despite a lack of legal restrictions, all those attending the club should try to maintain a 1m social distance while not participating in physical activity. This includes while waiting piste-side.
Do not shake hands. Salute from your enguarde line.
Please do not touch anyone else’s personal equipment and endeavour to keep your bags spaced out around the edges of the room.
Each fencer will plug themselves in and out of the box. Communal touchpoints on electric boxes such as buttons and sockets should be cleaned with an antiviral wipe by the fencer touching them before and after. Wipes will be provided. Remotes may also be used but should be disinfected if transferring use from one fencer to another.
Please remove all litter from the premises.
Use of the toilet is restricted to one person at a time. The only facility available is the disabled toilet located just outside the fencing hall. Remember to wear your face covering and use hand sanitiser before and after going to the toilet.
The equipment cupboard is off limits to fencers.

1 To 1 Lessons

Coaches are able to give 121 lessons to individuals at this time. However, coaches should not give lessons to more than one “sparring group” in one open session.
Where possible, 121 lessons should be held at the far side of the hall from the entryway near the external double doors, where airflow and circulation is greatest.

Spectators

The sessions and classes are now open to spectators. While we want to remain accessible and open as a club, we are mindful of the ongoing pandemic and keen to mitigate the risk as much as possible and would therefore encourage members and their friends and families to keep spectating to a minimum.
Spectators are required to wear masks at all times, and will be directed to a spectator area within the fencing hall, and should refrain from mingling with the club attendees where possible. They should also endeavour to maintain social distancing of 1m or more at all times.

Enhanced Cleaning

All touchpoints on club equipment – spools, remotes,scoring systems, extension cords, etc. – should be cleaned with a disinfectant wipe at the end of a session. All benches or other Edinburgh leisure equipment should similarly be disinfected.
It is the responsibility of the Session Covid Officer, as well as every attendee to ensure that this cleaning is completed before leaving the club hall.

Sharing Fencing Kit

Fencing kit should not be shared between fencers within a session. Where fencing kit is shared among fencers in between sessions, fencers should follow the cleaning and/or quarantine recommendations in the British Fencing Cleaning Protocols

Club News

Extended EFC Membership

We are pleased to announce the EFC sessions -Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7.15-9.45pm – are now open to bookings from the EXTENDED EFC MEMBERSHIP. If you were fencing with us regularly pre-COVID and have not received a restart email with sign-up details, please check your spam folder or email the club to check your eligibility, as we may not have correct contact details for you.

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