Hampshire Judo made the following announcement this morning concerning this year’s Hampshire Closed, due to be held on 29th March:
Following the announcements by the UK Government and with our duty of care to all of our Hampshire Judo community we are unfortunately going to have to cancel the Hampshire Closed event on the 29th of March. We will obviously be refunding entry fees and will communicate those arrangements shortly.
Reluctantly, following the recommendations from the Government today to avoid unnecessary travel and social contact, we have decided to close the club during the current Covid-19 crisis.
Hopefully we will be able to reopen after the planned Easter closure.
It has not been an easy decision to make, especially with the current low incidence rate in the area. The expectation however is that the number of incidents is likely to grow rapidly over the next few days.
The decision was made easier by the example of other clubs such as Gosport, Fort Purbrook and Kendal who have closed their doors, as has the Scottish Centre of Excellence in Ratho. A number of major sporting events have been cancelled.
The decision is supported by Sport England, who are providing information on other ways people can keep fit whilst at home.
Making the decision now will not only protect the health of players and parents, it will also enable us to protect the club finances. Fundraising initiatives through Easyfundraising and Portsmouth Lottery will continue, please support us via these avenues if you can.
Needless to say, the Bring a Parent nights previously advertised are cancelled. We will rearrange these when the club is able to open again.
We will advise of any decisions made regarding the Hampshire Closed on 29th March.
Thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Tony, Kev, Craig & Jill
We are monitoring the situation regarding the spread of Covid-19 (the coronavirus) very carefully.
Latest guidance is that we are still in the early phases of the “containment” stage of the UK’s response to this global pandemic.
There has only been 1 confirmed case in Portsmouth at the time of writing.
Guidance from Sport England on 12th March was still very much that activities should carry on, with due regard to good hand hygiene and self-isolation if you are feeling unwell.
Domestic judo events are still running, although international competitions (Olympic qualification events, European championships etc.) have been cancelled or postponed. Our friends in France have been advised by their governing body to shut down clubs for the foreseeable future. Presumably other European federations are following suit.
If we can source hand sanitiser, we will provide some at the club. As you know, most of the shops have been victim to panic buying so this may not be possible.
However, soap and water is still a more effective barrier. Please make sure you wash your hands before and after sessions.
Guidance issued to schools today (16th March) repeats this message.
It is not feasible for us to disinfect mat surfaces every session. We believe that any transfer to mats will die out in between sessions as the virus has a short lifespan on hard surfaces.
Please make sure judogis are washed after every session.
We understand that many people are making their own decision to withdraw from activities ahead of Government advice, especially if they or members of their household have other underlying health issues, they are carers for people deemed to be vulnerable etc.
If you are planning on withdrawing from club activities, please let us know, so that we can gauge impact on the club, and plan accordingly.
Please make sure you are following us on social media (Facebook – either our Page or private group – and Twitter), subscribe to our email update service or check the website regularly for latest updates. Things are moving rapidly and these will be our primary means of communicating with you.
