Covid Policy

As ever, our primary concern is safety, not just of our students but also of our staff. For the sake of our instructors, who are trying their best to manage in a job where close proximity with students is unavoidable, please follow these rules as if your livelihood depends on it… because theirs does.

We have to stress that it’s important for everyone to take responsibility for themselves in following these rules. We do, however, reserve the right to instruct anyone who doesn’t adhere to this policy to leave the studio or the session they are in immediately, and the terms of our Waiver and T&Cs will apply to any such event.

Please note that whatever measures we take, we cannot guarantee that you will not come into contact with the virus in the course of attending our classes, sessions or events. All we can do is attempt to minimise the risk. Every person in attendance must make their own decision to come along, having regard to their own personal circumstances and the risks involved. 

For more information on how our class structures have been modified in response to covid-19, please head to our changes to classes post-covid page.

This is a dynamic situation and this policy will be updated accordingly. Please check back here frequently to refresh your memory of the policy and to check for any updates.

Our Aims

Our strategy is to try to minimise the possibility of both airborne transmission and surface transmission.

General rules (you’ll recognise these as the government-distributed advice)

  1. Wash hands properly and often (soap and water, washing hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds).
  2. Maintain the current government-recommended distance from other people (helpfully, our main studio flooring is in 1mx1m tiles so distance should be fairly easy to judge).
  3. Stay at home if you’re unwell.
  4. Consider taking a lateral flow test before coming to class, to help us protect our staff and students.
  5. Make sure to follow any other government advice.

Rules specific to our studio

  1. You should wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water just before coming into the studio. Between the bathroom and the studio, you should use a paper towel to open doors and then put the paper towel in the bin outside the studio before entering.
  1. Use a large tissue to cover your nose and mouth to “catch” coughs or sneezes, preferably stepping outside the studio or well away from others first. Immediately put the tissue in the bin outside the studio after use and then wash your hands following the same procedure as above.
  1. “Catching” a cough or sneeze in your elbow while in the studio should be a last resort, and if it happens then you should wash your arm with soap and water if your arm was bare, or remove your clothing if your arm was covered. We’d recommend bringing along a spare top just in case it’s needed.
  1. Do not arrive at the studio more than 5 minutes before the start time of your class, and make sure to follow rules and instructions of leisure centre staff regarding social distancing.
  1.  Leave the studio as quickly as you can at the end of class.

Recommendations while in the studio

  1. You may use hand sanitiser as often as you like during your session. We particularly recommend use of sanitiser after touching your phone or water bottle. For safety reasons and to protect our equipment, please make sure any sanitiser is thoroughly rubbed in and your hands are completely dry before going back on the equipment.
  1. Using your own rosin or grip is preferred to sharing.
  1. Please try to limit verbal communication to what is necessary and save catchups after class. Of course, if you need help then it’s important to communicate that to us.
  1. Please don’t touch anything in the studio that you don’t need to touch… including each other! Please don’t give the instructors a reason to have to assist you out of a difficult situation. Now, more than ever, we’re relying on you to pace your progression to make sure you’re safe at all times.
  1. If you’re showing a video to a friend in class or training, send it to their phone rather than showing them on your own phone.

Rules relating to Class and Course Bookings

If you’re booked into a class you you cannot bring anyone to the vicinity of the studio to watch.

Woking Park, right on the doorstep of the studio, is a lovely place to pass the time if needed for a companion or designated driver. There is also a cafe in the centre (by reception) with socially distanced tables both inside and outdoors.

Rules relating to Private Bookings

Permitted people in addition to participants

Group bookings with no adult participants must have one Registered Supervisor with them who must remain contactable for the duration of the session and in the vicinity of the studio (see below for details).

We cannot accommodate spectators for any sessions. Woking Park, right on the doorstep of the studio, is a lovely place to pass the time if weather permits. There is also a cafe in the centre (by reception) with socially distanced tables both inside and outdoors.

Registered Supervisor

  • There must be one adult in the vicinity of the studio during any booking that doesn’t include an adult participant. This is to facilitate the running of the session without interruptions, including but not limited to chaperoning toilet breaks for participants while the session continues.
  • The Registered Supervisor will not be able to watch the session, but must remain in the vicinity of the studio for the duration of the session (your session instructor will tell you where your Registered Supervisor can wait so that they can be called if necessary).
  • We must have the Registered Supervisor’s phone number and they must be available to contact for the duration of the session.
  • The supervisor must follow instructions of studio and centre staff on social distancing and face coverings.
  • We’d suggest the supervisor bring something to do, such as a book to read.

Photography/Media

Participants are allowed to document the fun to share with others afterwards! Anyone taking photos or recordings must have the permission of anyone who they are recording or photographing.

If the booking is not an exclusive studio booking then you must avoid having people who aren’t part of your booking in the background of their photos.

When to arrive for your session/depart from your session

Please do not bring the first of your participants to the studio more than 5 minutes before the start of your booked session.

Please make sure that all of your participants are safely picked up within five minutes of the end of your booked session. 

Travel to and from the studio

It is the booker’s responsibility to ensure that participants’ travel to and from the booked session (right up to and right from the door of the studio) is in line with government guidelines and laws.  This includes, but is not limited to, government guidance and laws on social distancing and maximum numbers allowed at social gatherings. 

We know this requires a little more organising, but it is important for this organising to be planned in advance.  

Policy Rationale

We’ve set out below our understanding of the transmission risks and how the above measures aim to minimise those risks.

Surface Transmission

Alongside the measures set out below, thorough hand washing and not touching your face are critical elements to avoiding surface transmission. Although it’s wise to be mindful of the possibility of surface transmission, studies suggest that this is not thought to be the main way that the virus spreads.

High-touch equipment

There is constant development in the scientific community’s understanding of the virus, and we are doing our best to stay informed about current knowledge of the natural lifetime of the virus on different types of surface. We have limited the use and sharing of equipment and, where appropriate, equipment will be quarantined for a set number of hours or days between classes. 

“Catching” coughs and sneezes in your elbow

In everyday life we’re not always going to be prepared with a tissue. The idea behind catching a cough or sneeze in your elbow generally is that it is preferable to not covering it at all. Avoiding catching it in your hands helps to prevent spread of the virus as the crook of your elbow, in everyday life, is much less likely to come into contact with anything after you’ve sneezed than your hands are.

However, when we’re using equipment in the studio, our elbows are highly likely to come into contact with that equipment. To limit the spread of the virus in this way, we cannot allow anyone who has coughed or sneezed into their elbow to use the equipment before removing affected clothes or washing the elbow with soap and water. We will do our best to keep the studio stocked with boxes of large tissues, but please help us by bringing your own supply and keeping it close to hand while you’re in the studio.

Gloves

We do not recommend wearing gloves in class or during training.

According to current advice, the potential negative consequences of wearing gloves outweigh the positives. Our main reasons for advising against the use of gloves are:-

  1. Gloves must be of a particular type and worn correctly in order to not reduce your grip on the equipment. There will be a period of adjustment to wearing gloves if you have not previously trained in gloves. Any perceived benefit of wearing gloves to protect against viral infection may be outweighed by a higher risk of injury from falling if gloves are worn;
  1. Gloves (which must be used correctly to be at all effective in reducing disease transmission) may provide a false sense of security to wearers, and we would prefer that the focus remains on hand washing, not touching your face, and limiting contact.

Airborne Transmission

People who are infected with the virus can spread it through droplets in the air. To limit the possibility of the virus spreading this way in the studio, we are limiting group sizes and class durations. We are keeping these measures under review to make sure they fit in with current government advice and our own understanding of the best ways to keep you all safe while doing what you love.

No spectators

We understand that you would love to watch your child/parent/friend/significant other during their session, but we have a duty to protect our instructors and visitors from unnecessary transmission risk.

Participants in private bookings are welcome to take photos and videos of their session to show off their skills later on!

Limiting verbal communication

Evidence suggests that carriers of the virus are at more risk of infecting others when talking, laughing or singing. As mentioned above, we’ll still have loads of fun in the studio but for the time being please try to limit anything that requires extra effort on the part of your lungs – that’s when you’re most at risk of spreading the virus if you are infected. Of course, if you’re in danger or need help then it’s still important to communicate that to us.

Face coverings

There has been some mixed messaging about the usefulness of face masks. We will enforce current government guidelines on mask wearing as a minimum. We will also keep our own policies under review and reserve the right to require students to wear masks.

Transmission Chains

The more people you come into contact with during the day, the more chance there is of you picking up the virus at some point. You may be able to transmit the virus without ever realising you have had it.

We understand that everybody’s circumstances are different so it’s not possible for us to create a blanket rule that covers all eventualities. We simply ask that you please consider your own circumstances, including how many people you come into contact with and what level of risk your contact with others involves. If you’re back in your workplace, using public transport, or not following social distancing measures when seeing people outside of your household then we ask that you consider whether coming along to the studio poses an unfair risk to our instructors and other users of the studio. If it does then please don’t book or register for a session with us.

If everyone plays their part, you can help us to protect our studio community. 

In Summary

Having to temporarily close down again as a result of someone’s failure to follow this policy could lead to our permanent closure. We recognise that we have a responsibility to try to keep you all as safe as possible, and in return we respectfully ask that you help us to protect our livelihoods and our families by adhering to this policy, even if it is sometimes inconvenient.

We can’t wait to see you all again!