We will maintain summaries of the coronavirus updates for the parts of the UK in which our affiliated clubs operate. Please note that different rules apply for different parts of the UK:
- General notes about gatherings (updated 30th December 2020)
- Updates for England (updated 25th March 2021)
- Return of sport: contact or non-contact? (updated 12th April 2021)
- Updates for Scotland (updated 16th March 2021)
- Relevant guidelines for training (updated 14th September 2020)
- Insurance for training (updated 14th September 2020)
- Travelling for training (updated 3rd December 2020)
- General preparations for restarting training (updated 28th July 2020)
- Archived: Updates for England (updated 5th January 2021)
- National lockdown in England (updated 5th January 2021)
- Resumption of sport (updated 30th December 2020)
- Action plans and guidance (updated 3rd December 2020)
- NHS Test and Trace (updated 14th September 2020)
- Archived: Updates for Scotland (updated 5th January 2021)
- National lockdown in Scotland (updated 5th January 2021)
- Resumption of sport (updated 11th November 2020)
Please note that the following summaries are only our best understanding of the rules given by the government and by the devolved powers. The guidance and rules change on a regular basis and you absolutely should do your due diligence before taking any steps to reopen.
General notes about gatherings
Updated 30th December 2020.
One of the best summaries of the permissible numbers for social gatherings is this article from the BBC News website: Covid: The new lockdown rules for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Please note that “local lockdowns” or more local restrictions may change the rules in your area. Check your local council’s website for more information, or use the BBC News website to find out the local restrictions where you live.
In England, there is a four-tier system of “local restriction tiers” to describe the restrictions in different parts of the country. (source)
In Scotland, there is a five-tier system of “protection levels” to describe the restrictions in different parts of the country. (source)
Updates for England
Updated 25th March 2021.
On the 22nd of February 2021, the English government announced the plans for coming out of the third national lockdown. (source)
The plan seems to be very rough at the moment, and doubtless the details will change as they start to fill in some of the blanks. However, the indicative dates are as follows:
Step 1, part 1 – comes into effect on 8th March
- Two people from different households should be able to meet together in a park for socialising and exercise. Meeting for exercise in a garden doesn’t appear to be permitted yet. (clause 93)
- The “stay at home” order, meaning that you should remain “local” and can be fined for going outwith the “local area”, seems to remain in force. (clause 93)
Step 1, part 2 – comes into effect on 29th March
- Up to six people from different households, or any number of people from two households, are allowed to meet together in a park for socialising and exercise (the “rule of 6”). (clause 100)
- Meeting for exercise in a garden appears to be permitted at this stage, subject to the “rule of 6”. (clause 100)
- “Organised sports” will be allowed to resume outdoors and will not be subject to limitations on group size. (clause 102) (please note our summary of the updates regarding whether or not this may involve contact sports)
- The “stay at home” order, meaning that you should remain “local” and can be fined for going outwith the “local area”, seems to expire, meaning that you might be able to visit slightly further away than your “local area”. (clause 106)
Step 2 – no earlier than 12th April
- Indoor leisure facilities (such as gyms and pools) can reopen, but you can only go alone or with your own household. (clause 110)
Step 3 – no earlier than 17th May
- Indoor group exercise classes should reopen. (clause 120, section e)
- Most rules about socialising outdoors should be lifted, with up to 30 people being allowed to meet in parks and/or gardens. (clause 124)
- Indoor mixing will be allowed, subject to the “rule of 6”: up to six people from different households, or any number of people from two households. (clause 124)
Step 4 – no earlier than 21st June
- It is expected that all limits on mixing should be lifted by this stage. (clause 127)
Our summary
Clubs shouldn’t expect to return to the hall any time soon. Furthermore, it must be remembered that these dates are at best indicative and are the earliest possible dates; they may easily be pushed back and delayed.
It looks like private tuition in the park may be allowed in step 1 part 1, and then in the garden in step 1 part 2, so March will see the return of private tuition. However, March will also see organised sports return to training outdoors in step 1 part 2, so this may be the next big milestone for clubs getting back to some form of training.
It looks like nothing much will change in April in step 2, in terms of clubs gaining more freedom, so it will probably be step 3 when clubs can begin to train indoors again, with May bringing the return of indoor exercise classes.
With any luck, everything will be more or less open again by June.
Return of sport: contact or non-contact?
Updated 12th April 2021.
On the 23rd of March 2021, the DCMS released an update about the details of sports returning to play. (source)
However, this was a self-contradictory update, referring to their contact combat sport framework, which still refers to the local tier system that is now totally out of date as England will no longer be using the tier system.
On the 25th of March 2021, the DCMS released an update to their contact combat sport framework to bring it in line with the government’s roadmap for exiting lockdown. (source) The four phases are now as follows, as a very rough summary:
- phase 0: non-contact training only, in a socially distanced fashion
- phase 1: may begin contact drills with equipment such as focus pads, but still no sparring
- phase 2: may return to contact training including sparring
- phase 3: may return to competition
The DCMS still requires that a “return to play” plan should be agreed between SportEngland and the relevant national governing body for the sport. Since HEMA has no national governing body, there is the opportunity for another body to pick up the slack and file the paperwork (although our martial arts overbody, BMABA, has been trying to do this for martial arts in general throughout the last year and has been rebuffed at every turn, so it is unlikely that any HEMA organisation would have any better luck right now).
The rules for contact sports to resume training are as follows:
Step 1A (8th March)
Organised contact combat sports with a return to play plan agreed between Sport England and the NGB may resume at phase 2 ONLY WHEN it is sport for educational purposes (such as for school children) or for the purpose of caring for children. Without this approved paperwork, the sport may only resume at phase 0.
No other organised contact combat sports may resume yet.
Step 1B (29th March)
Outdoors, for children: organised contact combat sports with a return to play plan agreed between Sport England and the NGB may resume at phase 2; without this approved paperwork, the sport may only resume at phase 0.
Outdoors, for adults: organised contact combat sports with a return to play plan agreed between Sport England and the NGB may resume at phase 1; without this approved paperwork, the sport may only resume at phase 0.
Indoors, for children: may not resume yet.
Indoors, for adults: may not resume yet.
Step 2 (12th April)
Outdoors, for children: organised contact combat sports with a return to play plan agreed between Sport England and the NGB may resume at phase 2; without this approved paperwork, the sport may only resume at phase 0.
Outdoors, for adults: organised contact combat sports with a return to play plan agreed between Sport England and the NGB may resume at phase 1; without this approved paperwork, the sport may only resume at phase 0.
Indoors, for children: organised contact combat sports with a return to play plan agreed between Sport England and the NGB may resume at phase 2; without this approved paperwork, the sport may not resume yet indoors.
Indoors, for adults: organised contact combat sports with a return to play plan agreed between Sport England and the NGB may resume at phase 1, although any activity that is not socially distanced (such as contact or pad work) can only take place between people from the same household or support bubble; without this approved paperwork, the sport may not resume yet indoors.
Step 3 (17th May)
DCMS have not planned this far ahead.
Step 4 (21st June)
DCMS have not planned this far ahead.
Summary
Our summary of the situation is that there are two options for classifying your HEMA practice: you can run your classes as a non-contact group exercise activity, or as an organised contact combat sport.
The former means that you can run quite safely and successfully as a “group exercise class”, whether indoors or outdoors according to what is permitted at any given time, and it means people can still come and practise with sword in hand – you just can’t engage in contact exercises yet.
The latter means that you can run quite safely and successfully as “organised sport”, whether indoors or outdoors according to what is permitted at any given time, but only in a non-contact and socially distanced fashion as per phase 0, because there is no approved return to play plan agreed between Sport England and the HEMA national governing body, because there is no such governing body for our sport.
For the foreseeable future, it would be best to plan to keep all your HEMA activities socially distanced and non-contact. There is no indication when or if this might change, although the government’s general plan for step 4 in June is that virtually all restrictions should be lifted.
Updates for Scotland
Updated 16th March 2021.
On the 23rd of February 2021, the Scottish government announced their roadmap for coming out of the national lockdown. The roadmap is light on details about precisely when anything will happen, because it depends on the data and how closely the Covid situation in Scotland matches the defined WHO situational levels. (source)
On the 16th of March 2021, the Scottish government made further announcements about how the country will come out of lockdown, providing some target dates and some additional information about what will be allowed to reopen at each stage. (source)
From 15th March
- Nothing will change with regard to adult participation in sport.
- Non-contact group sports may resume for 12-17 year-olds.
- Socialising rules will be eased, allowing meetings outdoors of up to 4 people from up to 2 households.
From 5th April
Most of mainland Scotland will be assumed to be in tier 4, and the tier 4 restrictions will eased slightly, with relevant points as follows:
- Some non-essential retail may re-open.
- Nothing will change with regard to adult participation in sport.
- Outdoor contact group sports may resume for 12-17 year-olds.
From 26th April
The current lockdown will be considered over, and regions of Scotland will return to the previous system of variable levels for local restrictions, with most regions likely to see the following reopenings:
- Socialising outdoors can be extended to include any number of people from up to 3 households.
- Socialising indoors in public will be allowed between up to 4 people from up to 2 households.
- Travel anywhere on mainland Scotland will now be permitted.
- All remaining shops can reopen.
- Gyms can reopen for individual exercise.
From 17th May
It is expected that if the number of cases continues to fall, regions should be able to see the following easings:
- Socialising indoors in private homes will be allowed between up to 4 people from up to 2 households.
- Outdoor contact sports for adults can resume.
- Indoor group exercise classes for adults can resume.
From June
The hope is that most of mainland Scotland will be able to move into tier 1 by the start of June, perhaps even into tier 0 by the end of June.
Our summary
It looks believable that adult participation in both indoor group exercise classes and outdoor contact sports should probably be allowed from the 17th of May, but not before.
However, the local rules for adult participation in exercise classes and outdoor sport will depend on what level each region is sorted into.
Relevant guidelines
Updated 14th September 2020.
Make sure your first aid qualifications (and any relevant child protection paperwork) are up to date.
If you want to train outdoors, please consider our guidance for practising in public and private spaces.
Please consider our guidelines for the safe practice of HEMA during Covid-19 for further information.
Insurance for training
Updated 14th September 2020.
If instructors have named instructor’s public liability insurance policies through the AHA and BMABA, such lessons will be covered by the insurance underwriters, as long as there is a risk assessment in place and you have the landowner’s written permission to practise there.
Travelling for training
Updated 3rd December 2020.
The precise rules depend upon BOTH in which part of the UK the sport training takes place, and from which part you begin your travelling.
At the moment, it is either explicitly against the rules or heavily advised against to travel between countries in the UK. You should try to stay within your own country, and depending on your local rules, you may need to stay within your own area.
If you live in England, then you can travel within England for the purpose of training and sport. You should try to avoid travelling into a tier 3 area if possible, and you should probably try to minimise your travelling in general. (source)
If you live in Scotland, then each tier has different rules about travelling between regions, but in general you should be staying within your own region, and sport does not seem to be a sufficiently good reason to travel to another region. (source)
If you live in Wales, you can travel for sport and training within Wales, and you can travel to an area of England for sport and training if the area is in tier 1 or tier 2, but not if it is in tier 3. (source)
General preparations for restarting training
Updated 28th July 2020.
Risk assessments
You should prepare a new risk assessment for running your activities while Covid-19 is still active. How will you run your meetings to make sure that no one contracts Covid-19 during your sessions?
We have received advice from BMABA that the insurance policies will NOT provide legal cover for defending a court case brought against a club or instructor in the situation where someone has contracted Covid-19 from a club meeting. The onus is on the club leaders to ensure that the environment and methods of practice are suitably safe for people to return to training.
Contact details for tracing
You should make sure that you have up to date contact details for everyone in your club so that you can contact people for testing and tracing purposes if you find out that someone who attended one of your sessions has since tested positive for Covid-19. Needless to say, this requires a solid attendance-tracking system, which you really should have in place as a condition of insurance anyway!
While you are doing this, if you have any membership details to update, please let us know so that we can bring our membership database up to date at the same time.
How will you handle equipment sharing?
What are your plans for sharing equipment at this time? Anything that you do share will need to be cleaned thoroughly before anyone else touches it. Therefore, who is going to do the cleaning, and when, and with what cleaning materials? How will loaner gear be transported and stored to minimise contamination to and from (and between) the training sessions?
How will you handle payments?
What are your plans for collecting payments in a safe fashion? It would be best to avoid handling cash or cheques where possible. Can you arrange payments through PayPal or through your website?
How will you ensure that you can maintain social distancing?
You will need to workout how many people you can fit safely into your venue, and cap your number of participants at that. You will also have to make sure that you do not allow any further participants in any given session.
Could you perhaps institute a booking system of some description, with a fixed number of “tickets”, to ensure that you are not put into the position of having to turn people away on the night?
How are you communicating with your members?
How are you going to make sure every single person who might attend your club is aware of all the new rules and policies for club training sessions?
It is important to make sure that everyone knows that they are also part of the solution in terms of keeping everyone else safe, so you must inform everyone that they should stay at home if they think they might be carrying the virus. It is up to you whether or not you mandate face coverings during your sessions, but you must communicate this to everyone clearly and in advance.
Do members need to sign anything?
There is (as far as we are aware) no legal requirement for members to sign any paperwork to do with Covid-19.
As always, signing a waiver to agree not to sue a club if the virus is contracted is against basic tenets of British law (you cannot sign away your right to sue someone for loss or damage incurred due to their negligence), so such paperwork is probably not all that helpful.
Our suggestion is to make sure everyone in your club is aware of the new information and policies, make sure you repeat this step regularly, and keep everyone up to date with changes. Make sure that people know that it is their responsibility to stay at home if they have any suspicion that they might have the virus (i.e. that they are following all the government rules and guidelines), and don’t make anything more complicated than you have to.
Remember, every new document you create that requires names and signatures will need to be stored and transferred securely and all GDPR rules must still apply to every part of the process for handling sensitive data.
The rest of your normal paperwork
Take the opportunity to look over your normal documentation. Is it all still in date and relevant? Does it require an update due to changes in how the club is running?
Relevant paperwork to consider and check would be:
- status of everyone’s insurance and membership
- status of instructors’ insurance
- status of first aid certificates
- status of PVG or DBS paperwork and any safeguarding certificates
Website documentation
Take the opportunity to look at your website. Is all the information up to date? Can you use your website to make sure that all club members will be aware of the club’s Covid-19 policies and plans?
Archived: Updates for England
Updated 5th January 2021.
As of the 2nd of December, England adopts a three-tier system to describe the restrictions in different places in the country. The government’s advice is as follows:
- Local restriction tiers: what you need to know
(published 23rd November) - Full list of local restriction tiers by area
(published 26th November)
As of the 2nd of December, the new system of “local restriction tiers” will replace the previous “alert level” system of tiers. Sports venues may be allowed to reopen, depending on the tier into which your region has been placed. (source)
As of the 5th of January 2021, England entered a national lockdown that takes precedence over the tier system. (source)
National lockdown in England
Updated 5th January 2021.
As of the 5th of January 2021, England will enter a new national lockdown, which seems to be expected to last for about six weeks or so, until roughly the middle to end of February. (source)
During this period, all adult group classes for sport are forbidden. You are allowed to leave the house for exercise once per day, by yourself or with any number of people from your household or support bubble; you may also leave the house for exercise by yourself and with a single other person from outwith your household, as long as you both exercise outdoors in a public place.
This lockdown takes precedence over all the other rules for tiers and resumption of sport, although it seems to be intended that once the lockdown finishes, England will return to the same system of tiers and resumption of sport that has already been in place.
Resumption of sport
Updated 30th December 2020.
Rules about number of participants seem to be aimed mainly at team sports and other sports where people interact with each other; if HEMA activities are socially-distanced, non-contact, and non-interactive (working more as an exercise club for individuals to exercise individually than a sports club with players playing the sport with each other), then larger numbers may still be permitted, as long as there are no situations where groups of more than 6 people interact with each other. (source § 2.1.1)
As of the 2nd of December, the English lockdown finishes, and the country returns to a new system of “local restriction tiers”. It is our understanding that the following details are pertinent: (source1, source2)
Tier 1
- Outside: organised outdoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes can continue.
We think that this includes some forms of contact training, due to the wording of the rules for tiers 1 and 2 compared to tier 3. - Inside: organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes can continue to take place, if the rule of 6 is followed.
We think this means that participants can interact with each other and do paired drills, as long as people do not mix in groups larger than 6. You can potentially have multiple groups of 6 in the class, as long as the groups do not change or interact with each other. - In tier 1, “contact training” indoors is limited to “pad work”. There doesn’t seem to be such a limitation for outdoor training.
Tier 2
- Outside: organised outdoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes can continue.
We think that this includes some forms of contact training, due to the wording of the rules for tiers 1 and 2 compared to tier 3. - Inside: organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes will only be permitted if it is possible for people to avoid mixing with people they do not live with (or share a support bubble with).
We think this means that group classes can continue as long as participants do not interact with each other and remain socially distanced 2m+ apart; this means solo drills only. You can potentially have a full class of people, as long as the no-one interacts with anyone else. - In tier 2, “contact training” indoors is forbidden. There doesn’t seem to be such a limitation for outdoor training, but it might be sensible to understand it to be limited to “pad work” as per the rules for tier 1.
Tier 3
- Outside: organised outdoor sport, and physical activity and exercise classes can continue, however higher-risk contact activity should not take place.
It is interesting to note that only now is “contact activity” forbidden, which suggests that some forms of contact training can be permitted for outdoor sports in tiers 1 and 2. - Inside: organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes cannot take place indoors.
This is pretty clear that indoor HEMA classes for adults are forbidden. - In tier 3, doing sports indoors (while mixing more than a single household) is forbidden, full stop.
Tier 4
- Outside: organised outdoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes cannot take place outdoors.
This is pretty clear that outdoor HEMA classes for adults are forbidden. - Inside: organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes cannot take place indoors.
This is pretty clear that indoor HEMA classes for adults are forbidden.
Another way of looking at the data
Since it can be quite difficult to get a sense of the rules from the breakdown above, here is another breakdown, from the perspective of simplicity and grouping by outdoor and indoor sports.
Indoor sports classes
T1-indoors: partial-contact and interactional organised sports are permitted for classes indoors following the rule of 6. (Note: “contact” is really just limited to pad work and suchlike.)
T2-indoors: non-contact and non-interactional organised sports are permitted for classes indoors.
T3-indoors: no organised sports indoors, just sports you can play within your own household.
T4-indoors: no organised sports indoors, but even so, indoor courts are closed.
Outdoor sports classes
T1-outdoors: partial-contact and interactional organised sports are permitted for classes outdoors. (Note: “contact” is really just limited to pad work and suchlike.)
T2-outdoors: partial-contact and interactional organised sports are permitted for classes outdoors.
T3-outdoors: non-contact and non-interactional organised sports are permitted for classes outdoors.
T4-outdoors: no organised sports outdoors, just sports you can play within your own household.
Action plans and guidance
Updated 3rd December 2020.
It is now a requirement that each and every governing body for team sports and contact combat sports must submit an action plan to Sport England and DCMS for approval, so that the sport can be “approved for play”. Team sports and contact combat sports must not be played unless they have been “approved for play”. (source)
However, “sports in which people primarily compete as individuals” do not need to submit an action plan for approval, and can be played without being “approved for play”, although governing body guidance should still be followed. (source)
Therefore, our advice is to treat HEMA practice as a non-contact combat sport where people train as individuals and do not compete with each other. You can follow the AHA guidance, or you could decide to follow the guidance of an organisation such as British Fencing.
The “contact combat sports framework” announced was by DCMS on the 1st of December. (source) It sets out a four phase approach to returning to normal contact training. To quote from the DCMS document:
The following phases are currently permitted in each tier (more information on the activity permitted can be found below):
- Phase 0 (non-contact, socially distanced activity only) – tier 2 and tier 3 areas
- Phase 1 (return to equipment training) – tier 1 areas
- Phase 2 (return to contact training) – not currently permitted
- Phase 3 (return to competition) – not currently permitted
This framework sets out a phased return to contact combat sport utilising population control as the key mitigating factor to reduce the risk of transmission. In all phases the key principles outlined in this guidance must be followed.
DCMS will determine, in conjunction with public health officials and Sport England, when contact combat sports can move between phases. This will be reviewed every 4 weeks.
NHS Test and Trace
Updated 14th September 2020.
As of the 14th of September, leisure businesses and organisations (which would include sports clubs) have a legal requirement to collect contact details for the NHS Test and Trace scheme – this is not optional. (source and guidance)
Furthermore, as of the 24th of September, these same businesses and organisations have a legal requirement to “display an official NHS QR code poster … so that customers and visitors can ‘check in’ using this option as an alternative to providing their contact details”. Again, this is not optional. (source, information about getting a poster)
However, it does seem that as long as the venue displays a poster, any clubs meeting within that venue do not necessarily need their own separate poster. (cannot point at a source for this, unfortunately)
Updates for Scotland
Updated 5th January 2021.
The Scottish route out of lockdown has the following stages:
Lockdown -> phase 1 -> phase 2 -> phase 3 -> phase 4
As of the 9th of July, Scotland moved into phase 3. (source) The country has remained in phase 3 since then, with no further movements. Within this phase, there have been a number of changes to the national and local rules and restrictions. (source)
As of the 2nd of November, Scotland adopted a five-tier system (with levels 1-3 mapping broadly onto England’s system, and an additional tier 0 and tier 4 on either side). (source) Depending on the tier into which an region is placed, there will be different rules and restrictions.
As of the 5th of January 2021, mainland Scotland entered a national lockdown that takes precedence over the tier system. (source)
National lockdown in Scotland
Updated 5th January 2021.
As of the 5th of January 2021, mainland Scotland will enter a new national lockdown, which seems to be expected to last for at least the rest of January. The islands may remain in tier 3, although this will be monitored carefully. (source)
During this period, all adult group classes for sport are forbidden. You are allowed to leave the house for exercise as often as you wish, by yourself or with any number of people from your household or support bubble.
You may also leave the house for exercise by yourself and with a single other person from another household, as long as you both exercise outdoors.
This lockdown takes precedence over all the other rules for tiers and resumption of sport, although it seems to be intended that once the lockdown finishes, Scotland will return to the same system of tiers and resumption of sport that has already been in place.
Resumption of sport
Updated 11th November 2020.
Permission to resume sport depends entirely on the tier into which your area has been placed. (source) The following is the summary for “Sports & Exercise!” from the Scottish Government’s publication on the Scottish Strategic Framework: (source)
Level 0
- All permitted
Level 1
- All permitted except age 18+ indoor contact sports (professional permitted)
Level 2
- All permitted except age 18+ indoor contact sports (professional permitted)
Level 3
- Indoor: individual exercise only (exemption for under 18s)
- Outdoor: all except adult (18+) contact sports (professional permitted)
Level 4
- (Indoor) Gyms closed
- Outdoor non-contact sports only (professional permitted)