First night back - 11th May
This was our first night back after 14 months away (last evening fencing was 10th March 2020 …)
Rhiwbina Hall was eerily silent, as we trooped in on the dot of our new ‘staggered’ opening time of 8.35pm. Hand Sanitiser, provided by the Hall, was available on a small table in the entrance lobby.
The main hall was empty when we went in, as the preceding group (Pilates/Yoga) had left promptly at 8.30pm, ensuring avoidance of inter-group contact.
We carefully wiped the light-switches, and door handles, as we got out two bags of scoring sets from our cupboard. Completed Consent forms & Questionnaires were collected. The high level clerestory windows were cranked open fully for maximum ventilation.
Fencing resumed slowly, with the only incident being the ball retaining clip coming adrift on one members’ epee! which was promptly handed to the club armourer for running repairs...
There’s no doubt, we all found it a bit of a drag having to change from ‘no-face-mask- whilst-fencing’ to having to wear one when not. It was also difficult for non-fencers to always keep a 2m distance when waiting to fence.
However, we intend to ‘play it straight’ with the present guidance, to keep the risk of infection to the very minimum. We look forward to further review in the coming weeks - and also to our other club members joining us, once they have had their second jabs !
Thanks to all for attending. Hopefully this is the start of the return to fencing as we remembered it …
See you next week.
