This week will mark the first face-to-face classes that the Club will have been able to conduct since March. With the change of venue, and the ongoing restriction due to COVID-19, there will be some alterations to what have been normal practices over the past few years. I would ask that you be both patient and understanding with the changes we have made, and they have been designed to meet our obligations and make things as efficient as they can be under these circumstances.
We are all feeling our way through at the moment, and here will be some inevitable tweaks and changes to our protocols, so please keep an eye out for.
The most important first step for you is to have a thorough read of the BBRD COVID-19 Member Charter, which is now up on the Club website under the Policy tab. This contains important information about what you need to bring and what you need to do on your return to the dojo. The headline things to watch out for are:
If you are feeling at all unwell, then you must stay away from the dojo. This includes as a spectator. If you become unwell, you must immediately stop training, notify the supervising instructor, and leave the venue. You cannot return until you have been cleared of a COVID-19 infection.
You must be on time to the dojo. If you are late, which means that you arrive after the scheduled class begins without having notified the supervising instructor of when you will be arriving, you will not be permitted to enter the dojo.
You will need to sign in and sign out at the start and end of your time in the dojo. There will be a table set up at both the entrance and exit for you to do so.
It will be necessary to bring sufficient water for you to drink during the session. Bans on bubblers and other publicly available water are still in force. At this stage, it ought not be too complicated to bring sufficient, but we will have to be mindful one the weather starts to warm up.
You will need to bring one personal towel for each session that you are participating in. This will be used to help clean/sanitise the training area at the end of each session, and you will need to launder your towels at home before you bring them in. We would suggest some type of waterproof bag to transport them (and any sweat soaked uniforms) in.
We will be strictly enforcing the “street shoes” off at the entrance to the dojo, and the need for dojo specific footwear to walk around the wooden floor on. There are additional protocols regarding footwear/feet sanitisation that are discipline specific, and this will be gone through with you prior to any particular session.
Face masks may be required as part of specific COVID-19 planning for particular disciplines/activities. Again, you ought to be getting a message from your respective discipline coordinators outlining what you will need for your first session, and will be taken through this before training.
We are still being cautious over the next fortnight, just to see the lay of the land with respect to Toowoomba-based community infections post the school holidays. Events in Victoria and NSW are of concern, and we want to err on the side of caution before we fully embrace what we are able to do under Stage 3 easing of restrictions.
Many of us have not been anywhere near as active over the past four months as is usual. We will be taking this into consideration and ramping up the physical workload over a few weeks to try and avoid injury. However, you will also need to be self-monitoring in this regard, and not push too far beyond comfort zones initially.
Make sure that you have a thorough read of the Members’ Charter. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact either myself or the relevant discipline coordinator — ideally before class starts.
We need to be extra vigilant at this point. None of us wished for there to be another months-long shutdown and time away from training face-to-face.