COVID-19: Updated 19 Mar 18:25

As a result of the recent announcements, Guildford Archery Club’s Executive Committee has decided on the following course of action:

Indoor sessions at Ash Manor 20 & 22 March: CANCELLED.

Working Party 21 March: POSTPONED.
We will try to contact everyone who’s volunteered to help, but please do not turn up to take part.

Beginners’ Course 28 March, 4 & 11 April: POSTPONED.
We will try to contact everyone who’s volunteered to help or is booked on to it and will aim to offer a place later in the year.

Junior Saturday Sessions: CANCELLED until further notice.
We will keep this under review; watch this space.

Club days, Club competitions and Club trophy shoots: CANCELLED until further notice.

Shooting at GAC’s ground at Normandy: your Committee takes the safety of its members and visitors very seriously; we also recognise the importance of getting out in the fresh air and the contribution that participation in archery makes towards good physical and mental health, particularly in these trying times. To comply with the most recent government guidelines on public gatherings, all regular sessions shown on the Club shooting diary have been cancelled for the present. We have undertaken a Risk Assessment and decided to keep the range open until further notice. Members who decide to shoot, do so entirely at their own risk and the Club strongly advises that they follow all of the government guidelines with regards to COVID-19, as well as all of the normal rules of shooting.

DO NOT visit the Club if you feel at all unwell, or if you have been in contact with anyone who is unwell.

If you do visit the Club, observe stringent hand hygiene; carry tissues and hand sanitiser at all times; keep use of the Clubhouse to the absolute minimum; take your own drinks and food to avoid using Club crockery and cutlery; wash hands/use hand sanitiser before and after handling anything; avoid touching shared or other’s people’s items as much as possible eg arrows, when collecting; observe social distancing at all times (Gov.uk says stay at least 2 metres apart) and shoot 1 per boss to avoid close contact and touching other people’s arrows (unless sharing with members of the same household). In other words, we must all take all sensible precautions to protect ourselves and other people as much as we can.

Please watch out for updates, as things may of course change as a result of government advice/orders.

Thanks and stay safe everyone.

Further information regarding our decision to keep the range open

AGB are strongly recommending that all archery activities in the UK cease, other than Olympic Team training, in order to avoid all non-essential social contact. Here’s part of their latest statement:

“We would like to re-emphasise as there still appears to be some confusion among our members, that we are strongly advising that all archery in the UK is postponed for the foreseeable future, to reduce all non-essential contact with others. Yesterday evening in the Prime Minister’s briefing, Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty stated that the reason social distancing is so important and the reason the government are strongly advising that we should avoid all non-essential contact, is to delay the spread of the virus. This is to ensure that ICU capacity is not breached. It’s crucial that people take social distancing seriously in order to protect the lives of others.

We have not made the decision to postpone archery activities lightly and it is not based on advice from our insurers, it is based on the advice from the government so we can play our part in beating this global pandemic. Please do not ignore this advice.”

GAC’s Committee absolutely agree that we must take social distancing seriously and we have immediately acted on the Government’s advice to cancel or postpone any organised gatherings. We then read the advice on www.gov.uk and having done a risk assessment, we decided that we could still allow members access to the range provided they take sensible precautions, which would comply with Government advice both to avoid close contact and maintain wellbeing. On the Government’s website, they advise against social mixing in the community, but the examples they give refer to indoor venues only. We have a large field, so maintaining the Government’s recommended minimum distance of 2 metres from other people is not a problem and we are advising use of the Clubhouse be kept to an absolute minimum ie just for access to toilets and hand-washing facilities. Today, the Chief Medical Officer Prof Chris Witty spoke of guarding against complete social isolation, which could lead to loneliness and damage to mental health. Government advice to people about looking after their mental wellbeing includes spending time doing things they enjoy, getting some exercise and getting out in the fresh air. Asked whether playing golf was acceptable, the UK’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance stated: “We’re not asking everyone to be completely isolated. The specific advice is to avoid close contact. A walk is OK if you keep a distance.”

Taking all these things into consideration, we are confident that ours is a carefully considered and proportional response to the situation. We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation and review our actions in light of any further government announcements.