Dear all,

The club remains closed for the foreseeable future.

Having looked at the BJA guidance, government guidance and the state of the pandemic in UK we will not be opening the club at this time.

Unfortunately, the infection rate and death rate from COVID-19 is still high, with declines stalling. As the lockdown eases, infections are likely to increase. We do not want to be a vector by which the disease spreads so are not able to open.

Wearing of masks seems impractical for Judo, and the heavy breathing at close proximity is likely to transfer the disease. Especially given the small size of the dojo.

Our hope is that the wider adoption of mask wearing and improvements.to track and trace will start to have a positive impact and make returning to Judo possible for us.

At this stage hundreds are still dieing tragically each week from COVID-19 in the UK. We do not want to risk anyone and at this stage doing Judo is a risky proposition that can be avoided.

We encourage everyone to follow the government guidance and “stay at home”, “work from home” and limit contact with others. The better we all do this the sooner we can safely return to Judo.

We are through the first wave of the pandemic, and as Judoka we know too well how dangerous it is if you let your guard down when you think you have the win, but the contest is not over.

Stay safe everyone!!