Below is an update provided by our governing body WAKO

On the 23rd November 2020 the Prime Minister announced the government’s Winter Plan to see us through to spring and the hope that with the arrival and rollout of vaccines the need for economic and social restrictions will be made obsolete.

Spring however is still months away and Winter is traditionally the hardest period for the NHS and so we must remain vigilant in our efforts to keep COVID19 under control.

As the national lockdown ends on the 2nd December, it will be replaced with a standardised three tier system across England. Once approved the government will be dispensing the vaccine as quickly as possible, however given that this will take time the new Lateral Flow Test will be used for the rapid testing of asymptomatic cases in Tier 3 areas so that these areas can quickly press down on transmission. The announcement of which areas will go into which tier is to be announced tomorrow.

The devolved nations have now agreed a common approach to Christmas that will facilitate family and friends to meet in a limited way whilst recognising that the risks of transmission remain very real. The detailed guidance for the Christmas period can be found here https://www.gov.uk/.../making-a-christmas-bubble-with...

So what does this means for our sport? Well, the Prime Minister announced that the ban on grassroots sport will be lifted whilst DCMS Home Secretary Oliver Dowden issued the following press release https://www.gov.uk/.../culture-secretary-announces-return... and twittered the following message:

Grassroots sport back on to help the nation stay fit & healthy

- Gyms open & amateur sport back on in all areas

- Kids team sport open in all areas

- Some mitigations for high contact sports & adults sport indoors

Basically, we can still operate in all three tier levels, however there will be differences in what can be allowed at each of the three levels, hence the “some mitigations”.

From the governments COVID19 Winter Plan, which can be found here https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/.../COVID-19..., the following exercise is allowed at each level:

Tier 1 – MEDIUM

- Classes and organised adult sport can take place outdoors; but must follow the rule of six indoors.

- Organised activities for elite athletes, under 18s and disabled people can continue.

Tier 2 – HIGH

- Classes and organised adult sport can take place outdoors; but cannot take place indoors if there is any interaction between people from different households.

- Organised activities for elite athletes, under 18s and disabled people can continue.

Tier 3 – VERY HIGH

- Classes and organised adult sport can take place outdoors, but people should avoid higher-risk contact activity.

- Group exercise activities and sports indoors should not take place unless with household or bubble.

- Organised activities for elite athletes, under 18s and disabled people can continue.

The guidance for sports is by necessity fairly generic as there are so many different types of sports all with their own challenges when it comes to play and training. The rule of six for indoor adult sport means that each group of six must maintain a safe social distance from each other. The government understands that the play and practise of sport will sometimes compromise social distancing, its guidance on “social distancing in play” states that sports must address the issues of how the sport can best mitigate the risk of social distancing in competitive matches and training. The approach taken by the vast majority of sports is to limit the activity to a minimum e.g. warm ups and exercise are still socially distanced. This is then backed up with strict COVID Secure measures such as screening, hand sanitising, cleaning of equipment, track & trace registers and the adherence to social distancing off the field of play.

It is recognised that being indoors increases the risk of transmission and so back in September the government introduced the rule of six for indoor sports to limit close quarter interaction to six people or less. This rule will apply to all adult sport in Tier 1 – Medium. Whilst this places some measure of control on sports it will allow two people to play squash, or four to play doubles in badminton. Basketball and indoor football may continue as long as each discrete training group is six people or less and so they can play 3 vs 3 for example. For kickboxing we typically train as partners and so each pod of two will always be within the rule of six. Unfortunately combat sports is not currently approved by the government and so we can only train if we remain non-contact and socially distanced.

So, what does this means in practical terms…

In Tier 1 (Medium) – For the reason explained above, the rule of six is not applicable to how we run kickboxing classes. Clubs can run organised classes that are non-contact and socially distanced for both adults and under 18s.

In Tier 2 (High) – Under current WAKO GB covid secure guidelines clubs can run organised classes that are non-contact and socially distanced for both adults and under 18s.

In Tier 3 (Very High) – Adults may train on a solo basis only. This means no indoor adult organised group activity is allowed and people can only work out in isolation e.g. bag-work or weight training. Classes for under 18s may continue.

A long-winded message but for English clubs it’s a positive step forward as it means we can still operate at all tier levels albeit restricted to solo adult’s in tier 3.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to explain where we are with respect to getting back to pad work or sparring. Whilst the rule of six recognises that social distancing may be compromised during play, it expects sports to mitigate for this risk and document an action plan demonstrating its mitigations and how it plans to operate. This “plan” must then be submitted to government (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) for review by DCMS and if required, by Public Health England. This process is documented under the government's return to recreational team sport framework.

https://www.gov.uk/.../return-to-recreational-team-sport...

The site lists all of the sports that have been approved to return and is why you will see grassroots sports such as football, rugby, basketball, gymnastics all back and not adhering to 2m social distancing during training or competitive play. Combat sports such as Boxing, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Judo, Wrestling and ourselves are not yet approved.

Under the Governments framework, I submitted our Return to Kickboxing (RTK) guidance document at the beginning of October. We received the following reply:

“We know that sport and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active. The Government has made it clear that it will adopt a phased approach based on scientific and medical advice, and that the primary goal is to protect public health. Martial arts are able to resume on a non-contact basis so long as they are done in alignment with Government guidance on group sizes, social distancing and venues. The Government is in discussions with representatives from martial arts governing bodies about the steps required to restart contact safely” - DCMS, 6th October

We followed up with an amended version at the beginning of November in response to the introduction of three tiers in England and the 5 Tier system in Scotland. DCMS acknowledged the submission and replied with:

“Thank you for getting in touch. I have passed this onto the team - however, as you state, contact sports are still to be approved for return to play. We will continue to work with the sport to allow its return as soon as possible. Please continue to refer to gov.uk for the latest guidance” – DCMS, 9th November

It is a slow process and looking at England Boxing FAQ’s I can see that they had their meeting in July, submitted at the beginning of August and yet still not approved. I am firmly of the opinion that kickboxing can return safely and that the risks from pad work and sparring can be mitigated effectively by the protocols we have in place. I know this because our under 12’s in Scotland have been allowed to do contact since August and the introduction of the new 5 tier system introduced on the 2nd November now enables Scottish clubs to do contact with all under 18’s in tiers 3 and below.

Whilst I understand the logic that being indoors, face-to-face, under 2m with increased levels of respiration does increase the risk of transmission. I am also of the opinion that the risks involved are no greater than other indoor sports that have already been approved, basketball being a case in point.

The government have assured me they are “in discussions with representatives from martial arts governing bodies“, however it’s not clear what the status is or if any progress is being made. Since August I have made repeated requests for updates to DCMS but to no avail. Rest assured I am continually trying to push our case and with the publication of the winter plan I have now requested further clarification from DCMS on what the rule of six in Tier 1 means for kickboxing.

In addition to seeking clarification from DCMS I have now reached out to all Sports England recognised NGB’s that have striking as a part of their sporting discipline and therefore looked upon by the government as a "combat sport”. The letter (supported by our Return to Kickboxing Guidance document) summarises our experience of the pandemic so far and our interaction with the Department for Digital Culture Media & Sport. The purpose of this is to compare notes across the sector so as to get a clearer picture of what everyone understands the government strategy to be going forward. Whilst I have yet to get any responses, I am hoping we may get some good news or at the very least initiate a call for action from all the NGB’s currently impacted by this restriction on combat sports.

In the meantime it's business as usual - non contact - 2m distancing.

Stay disciplined, stick to the guidelines, we will get there...

Gordon Mitchell

WAKO GB Lead Safeguarding Officer