#TrySomethingNew

Hello everyone

All of us here at Scottish Fencing hope you are enjoying the opportunities to get back fencing indoor and connecting with friends and club-mates, old and new. It’s been great to see so many clubs getting back up and running, not to mention seeing some Olympic action on TV and other media. 

Over the month of August, we will  participate in a common theme with other governing bodies and sportscotland, encouraging people to #TrySomethingNew. We obviously want to encourage more people to come along to their local (and awesome) fencing club to get an introduction to this amazing sport. We are keen to hear or be tagged in to any and all activity you or your club may be doing to encourage existing members or new members to #TrySomethingNew.

It doesn’t need to be a large project designed to attract lots of new members or anything burdensome. It could even be existing members trying a different weapon – perhaps the regular Epeeist fancies becoming a new Sabreur or Foilist… and of course we would love to see any pictures you are willing to share with us.

If your club is keen to participate, please keep an eye on the SF social media channels and use the hashtag #TrySomethingNew. – We will share some updates of new and innovative things clubs and tournament organisers in the Scottish Fencing world are already up to, but we know there is more out there and we want to help showcase your hard work. 

We’d love to hear from you as you encourage members new and old to #TrySomethingNew.

Please get in touch with us on admin@scottish-fencing.com or check out the contacts page on the website www.scottish-fencing.com - if sharing a project or activity with us it would be great to understand the following -

Can you tell us the name of your #New activity?

Who is it targeted at?

What made you decide to offer this?

How long will it run for?

Can anyone join in?

How do fencers/potential fencers find out more?

Vincent Bryson

Chief Executive

Scottish Fencing

#sporthour

On the first Monday of every month, our friends at sportscotland run a Twitter chat called #SportHour. This chat allows organisations, clubs and individuals who are interested in sport in Scotland to come together to give their opinion and discuss important topics.

The theme changes every month. On Monday 2nd August, the theme will be “Celebrating Sport”. The questions start at 9pm. Here are this month’s questions in advance:

Celebrating Sport - #SportHour questions

The questions will be asked every 20 minutes starting at 9pm. Remember to include 'A1' in your answer for Q1 and so on for all three questions. Important: tag all your posts with #SportHour so that everyone can see your contribution.

An example is: 'A1 I recently joined the local hockey team, met some great friends, got fit & now I feel fantastic! #SportHour'

Look forward to seeing as many fencing clubs there as possible!

#ForgingTheFuture

UK Government - Community Ownership Fund

The UK Government has recently launched a £150m Community Ownership Fund, to support communities to take on the running of local facilities that have been closed or are at risk of shutting down.

This may be an opportunity for ambitious sports clubs to take on the running of their own facility.

If you have ever dreamed of having your own Salle, you can find more information here:

Community Ownership Fund

Please get in touch if this is something you wish to pursue.

#ForgingTheFuture

2022 Senior Junior and Cadet Selection Consultation - Survey

All of us at Scottish Fencing are delighted to see the recent changes to Level 0 meaning more athletes can access the piste again – but more importantly get back to your club environments and reconnect with friends and club mates, new and old.

Today, we are releasing a consultation in the form of a survey to ask the Scottish Fencing membership your opinions on some of the selection options we have ahead of a busy calendar of representative events in 2022.

 We are interested to hear your thoughts on the options detailed within, and of course there is an opportunity to offer direct feedback on the form as well. We also ask for a Scottish Fencing membership number both to validate the feedback as coming from a member and also allowing us to follow up with you directly if you consent to this.

It is possible we may need to either offer more context to our suggestions or ask you for more should you make one of your own. Any form of dialogue is welcome.

Once we have collected your feedback, our performance working group will of course analyse it and follow up with individuals (if required) before making a recommendation to the Scottish Fencing Board.

Thank you again for your interest, please click here to access the survey

Paul Vaughan – SF performance Director

Blair Cremin – SF Pathways Manager

ForgingTheFuture Programme - Start With Why - Recap (June 2021)

The #ForgingTheFuture programme is Scottish Fencing’s Changing Lives Through Sport development programme for clubs. Changing Lives is a different way to deliver sport, where fencing is used INTENTIONALLY to improve the lives of a person or community. A Changing Lives approach puts the participant at the centre of process, and delivers the sport in a way that prioritises positive social outcomes.

Session 2 - Start With Why

The first section of the session was spent recapping Session 1 (The Power of Sport), and the clubs shared current “Bricks & Bubbles” - that is, what is currently going well and what is a challenge for them. We believe it is important to connect with each other, and begin to build a Community of Practice built on trust.

The theme of the second session was “Start With Why”. After watching Simon Sinek’s famous TED Talk (https://bit.ly/2WaOAjN) together, the clubs explored the difference between WHAT we do, and WHY we do it. Whereas WHAT we do as fencing clubs and coaches is similar, the reasons WHY we do things is often very different. Being able to articulate our WHY as a club allows us to make clear decisions on WHO we want to support and the role we want to play within the fencing community and our local community.

Some of the questions considered & discussed:

-          Why did you fall in love with fencing?  How old where you at the time?

-          What impact have you seen fencing make on people and communities?

-          What role should fencing play in people’s lives?

-          What’s the difference you want to make in the world?

Thank you to the members from Bellahouston, Dunedin, Elgin Duellists, Forth Valley, Glasgow West End, Livingston, Orkney, Shetland and West Fife for your insight and honesty. There is no doubt that investigating ways to use fencing to impact positive social change will allow these clubs to become more sustainable, as government priorities (and funding) change.

Adopting a Changing Lives approach is NOT about stopping the good work our fencing clubs are currently doing such as creating opportunities for people to fence and achieve their potential. It is about doing this as well as reaching out to others, who do not currently access the benefits of our wonderful sport, and using fencing to have a positive social impact.

If you are interested in developing your Changing Lives approach, please get in touch - blair.cremin@scottish-fencing.com.

#ForgingTheFuture

sportscotland Mental Health & Wellbeing Resources

sportscotland is delighted to have collaborated with Hampden Sports Clinic, the Scottish FA and Scottish Rugby to produce a Mental Health and Wellbeing e-learning module, supported by SAMH and Scottish Sports Futures, that will provide players, coaches, parents and officials with the tools and techniques to effectively support participants. This e-learning can be accessed here.

In addition, Scottish Sports Futures have developed a complimentary Mental Health and Wellbeing ETC Workshop that is available for free until the end of March 2022 due to support and funding from Scottish Government. Initially, this offer will be delivered online and is designed specifically to support coaches in their role. Further information on the learning outcomes and the booking process can be found in the attached documents. Further details can be obtained by emailing etc@ssf.org.uk

Whilst both interventions can be completed independently, we’d recommend that the e-learning module is completed first in order to obtain a basic understanding and awareness, before following up with the ETC Workshop to compliment and support an individual’s learning.

If you attend either of these training opportunities, please let us know!

#ForgingTheFuture

Funding Scotland - July 2021

Hi All,

we receive a weekly update from Funding Scotland, which highlights a range of different funding streams available in Scotland. Some of these funding streams can be accessed by sports organisations. We have forwarded this on to the club secretaries, and will continue to do so as and when we receive the information from Funding Scotland.

If your club has not received it, please let us know at blair.cremin@scottish-fencing.com.

Thank you!

#ForgingTheFuture

Scottish Fencing Updated Guidance 19 July 2021 - Note from the Board

On Wednesday, the Board discussed the evolving relationship between changes in COVID-19 Protection Level, related guidance from the Scottish Government and the ability to organise, or participate in, fencing activities.  Working with sportscotland, the staff team has produced detailed guidance; however, I ask that you bear in mind the following points: 

Level 0 

Level 0 is not “normal”.  This is still a protection level and everyone – whether organisers, participants or facility providers – must adhere to the guidelines.  Please ensure that your COVID Officer is trained and present at each session, that records are maintained and that everyone follows the guidance to support a safe, enjoyable and responsible return to sport. 

Sports Facilities 

The majority of fencing clubs in Scotland rely on access to facilities, often in public buildings.  Whilst guidance is available for operators of facilities, access to club venues may not be available immediately, either due to alternative use (for example as additional teaching space or vaccination centre) or because the operator has not yet prepared facilities for use by clubs.  Local Authorities will be managing change across several locations: please remain patient and maintain a dialogue with your facility provider to enable as smooth a transition as possible. 

Events  

Perhaps the most frequent questions that we receive relate to events. As the situation improves, holding competitions or pathway training events will become feasible. However, in relation to selection we remain focussed on ensuring that fencers should not be disadvantaged by virtue of their location (for exmaple if some were unable to travel, when others were), and this will inform when the Board feels it appropriate to hold events. 

Hopefully, we are on the way back to being able to enjoy our sport in a safe environment. Please remember, just because things can happen, that doesn’t mean that they will!

Updated Guidance

As detailed in the guidance on the 1 July 2021 the Scottish Government have updated FACTs and this is the only change to our guidance which you can find here.

Section 81 now reads:

Protecting all of us, takes all of us.  As restrictions are eased, it is vital that we don’t give in. We should continue to:

• maintain and promote good ventilation

• wear face coverings in certain settings

• physically distance in certain settings

• use good hand and respiratory hygiene and surface cleaning

• stay at home and book a test if you develop coronavirus symptoms

• work from home where possible and appropriate

British Fencing have also updated their equipment cleaning protocols which you can find here

Scottish Fencing’s Adaptive Fencing Guidance is here

And if you have any questions please get in touch email us at admin@scottish-fencing.com

Commonwealth Junior & Cadet Fencing Championships 2022 move to London

The Commonwealth Fencing Federation (CFF) have just announced that following a review of the international situation with respect to Covid-19, the Commonwealth Fencing Federation and the Fencing Association of India (FAI) have agreed that the Commonwealth Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships will not be held in India in 2022. The CFF would like to thank FAI for their cooperation in this matter and they are delighted that India has accepted the offer to instead host the event in 2024.

To avoid cancelling CJCFC2022, the CFF have agreed with England Fencing that England will host a combined championships incorporating all of the senior, veteran, cadet and junior categories, and the inaugural Commonwealth Wheelchair Fencing Championship.

This change will, of course, cause a change to the previously published schedule for CFC2022 and CVFC2022. Full details will be communicated in due course.

The entire event will be hosted in London at the University of East London SportsDock from 9 to 20 August 2022 in what promises to be a festival of fencing celebrating the spirit of the Commonwealth. The CFF and EF look forward to welcoming everyone to London in August 2022 for this unique event.

Scottish Fencing updated guidance 1 July 2021

Following the First Minister’s statement on 22 June you can find Scottish Fencing’s Return to Sport and Physical Activity guidance document here, amendments are highlighted.

Key changes for fencing clubs to note are:

• para 8 Car Sharing guidance wording updated. Note this relates to the current Scottish Government guidance and may be reviewed after 19 July.

•  Para 11.1 Updated wording to provide further clarity on travelling to a lower level area for activity.

•  Para 13 Updated to include reference to changes from 19 July.

•  Para 52 Updated wording and added paragraph on those returning to activity after recovering from Covid-19.

•  Para 81 FACTS is the current Scottish Government guidance. We are awaiting to an update as to face covering guidance and also note that physical distancing requirements are changing from 19 July.

We have been working with sportscotland to clarify specific details in relation to all remaining local authorities moving to Level 0  on 19 July which hopefully the Scottish Government will confirm on or around 13 July.

From 19 July the key changes relevant to sport and physical activity are:

• Indoor contact sport and physical activity is permitted.

• Indoor physical distancing in other settings will be reduced from 2m to 1m.

• Outdoor physical distancing requirement will be removed.

•  Informal social gatherings of any number will be allowed outdoor.

• Organised outdoor events will continue to need to comply with the size limits and processes already set out for level 0.

The First Minister gave an indicative date of 9 August to move beyond Level 0. This is linked to Gateway Conditions being met and suggested baseline measures that will be in place. Once these are finalised we will provide guidance on what this means for fencing activity.

If you have any questions please ask, email us at liz.anderson@scottish-fencing.com