Announcements

Last updated October 23, 2020

RCFC is open for some in-person activities. Following both the Indoor Fitness and Indoor Competitive Sporting Activity guidelines of Washington’s “Safe Start” phased approach policy, we are able to provide private lessons, retail sales, classes of up to 10 fencers, and open practices of up to 6 fencers.

We have prepared the following protocols which we plan to follow to minimize the risk of exposure for students, parents, and coaches. This list is a work in progress, and is based on specific requirements and recommendations from local, state, and federal agencies. We will continue to update it as ideas come out of further discussions among the coaches, and any further recommendations from state and local governments are released. We will also continually evaluate these protocols for feasibility and effectiveness, and adjust them as necessary.

Note that while we will attempt to minimize risks as much as possible, there is no way that risk can be completely eliminated. Members of high-risk populations should still stay home. Clients will be required to sign a waiver agreeing to our COVID-19 mitigation policies. An email containing a link to a brief safety reminder video will be sent prior to each lesson (WA state requirement).

Surfaces and Objects

• High-contact surfaces (including but not limited to door handles, faucet handles, machine controls, reel cable ends, etc.) will be disinfected at the end of each day.
• All of our staff will wear appropriate PPE including face coverings at all times. There will be a transparent barrier at the front desk to help minimize risk of transmission.
• We strongly recommend that customers pay their bills online through our membership system. In person, our credit card terminal supports contactless payments such as tap-and-go and Apple Pay. When paying in person with a credit card, signatures are not required.
• When possible, we will keep our entry doors propped open during class and lesson times so that contact with door handles is not necessary and to increase air circulation. This may change based on how heating and air conditioning are affected.
• Doors to the main restrooms will be propped open to avoid contact with door handles.
• Lockers, changing areas, and showers will be closed until state guidelines allow them to be reopened. Only restroom use and hand washing will be permitted in those areas.
• Because changing areas are closed, fencers should come to the club dressed in athletic wear appropriate for under a fencing uniform.
• Street shoes will not be permitted on the fencing floor. Please bring your athletic shoes with you and put them on in the lobby.
• All students should bring water bottles with them. Please put your name on your water bottle! At our water fountains, there will be no drinking by mouth, only filling water bottles. Water bottles left behind at the club will be thrown away.
• During open fencing, scoring machines should be turned on and off with the tip of the weapon if possible. For now, remote controls should not be used.
• We have installed no-touch soap dispensers and faucets in all restrooms.
• The weight room is limited to 1 person at a time. Sanitizing equipment before and after use is required, using the sanitizing spray provided.
• There are be no shared tools available in the guest armory. Please bring your own tools to work on your equipment.
• Any props for games (balls, pool noodles, etc.) are sanitized after use. We are avoiding games that involve touching shared objects.
• Because the wood floor is where the most strenuous activity takes place, fencers should avoid doing stretching and fitness exercises on the floor. Bring a yoga mat, or use the carpeted areas instead.

Distancing

• All staff and customers should maintain 6-foot distancing at all times.
• A maximum of 2 people will be allowed in each main restroom at a time.
• Students should check in at the front desk, and wait upstairs or outside for their class or lesson.
• If possible, parents and other non-fencers should wait in their vehicle or leave after checking in their child and come back at the end of class. Otherwise, parents should wait upstairs. If possible, only one non-fencer should accompany a minor fencer into the club.
• When going upstairs, use the front stairs. Come back down via the back stairs.
• Enter through the front doors only. When possible, exit through the double doors between the two gyms.
• We will set up our new furniture in the lobby and on the mezzanine with appropriate distancing. No more than 5 people should gather in any one common area.
• Group class sizes will be reduced– maximum 5 students per group in Phase 2, maximum 10-12 students per gym in Phase 3.
• When students are lined up for warmup and footwork exercises, one fencer per strip instead of two.
• For practice drills we will have one pair of students on every other strip, and minimize rotations.
• Each open fencing will be assigned either odd-numbered or even-numbered strips only.
• Our free trial sessions are limited to 10 people.
• After saluting: no handshakes, high-fives, or elbow bumps.

Hygiene and Screening

• All standard CDC recommendations (hand washing, control coughs and sneezes, stay home if any symptoms, etc.) will be in place.
• Fencers and parents should self-monitor symptoms and check their temperature before they leave home. We will conduct a no-contact temperature check of everyone who enters the club. Anyone with any COVID-like symptoms or a temperature over 100 will not be allowed in the club.
• Parents should check their child in at the front desk.
• Students should wash their hands on arrival. They may do so in the restrooms or using the kitchen sink upstairs. Coaches will verify hand washing or sanitizing before starting a class or lesson.
• Hand sanitizer, tissues, and trash cans are available throughout the facility.
• Students should come for class a few minutes earlier than usual to avoid backups in the restrooms.
• To minimize exposure time, please do not arrive more than 15 minutes early for your class or lesson, unless you’re accompanying a family member who has an earlier class or lesson.
• All employees will be screened for symptoms daily.
• Cloth or surgical masks will be required for everyone while in the building. This includes underneath the fencing mask.
• Coaches will wash and/or sanitize their hands before and after every lesson or class.
• Please do not bring food to the club, to reduce hygiene risks and the time required to clean up between classes.

Fencing Equipment

• Fencers who have their own gear should bring it, use it, take it home every day, and wash/disinfect it after each use.
• Fencers who have their own gear are not allowed to borrow any club gear. The club gear will be locked down during competitive classes and open fencing.
• We strongly recommend that students purchase their own gear, or at least their own glove and mask, after their first month of classes. We will do our best to maintain our retail inventory at appropriate levels.
• Retail uniforms which are worn to check for size and not purchased will be kept out of active inventory for at least 24 hours.
• For students who do not have their own gear, each student will be allocated their own set of club gear, which will remain at the club. All club gear is labeled with index numbers, which will be recorded for each student. We will place each student’s set of gear in a separate spot (possibly in separate fencing bags or plastic bins) where they can access it before class and return it afterwards. Each student only wears one particular set of gear, and each piece of gear is only worn by one student.
• Club gear will be washed/sanitized weekly, then put back out into bags or bins.

Class and Lesson Offerings

• We will look into expanding our class and lesson schedule, earlier in the day and more days per week, to allow for more and smaller classes.
• Private lessons will be available as an alternative to group classes, depending on coaches’ schedules.
• Private lessons are by appointment only; no drop-in lessons are permitted.
• In group classes, we will employ longer-distance, no-contact games and exercises to minimize student contact.