COVID-19 CLOSURE information
LAST UPDATE: OCTOBER 3, 2021
WHY WAS THE ABINGDON SITE NEXT TO RITA'S CLOSED?
By May 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government was clearly not handling the situation well. There was no clear end point even remotely in sight for closures. The club was never financially strong. It stayed in the black for the majority of its 10 years, but there were no savings, and no help would be forthcoming without the risk of possibly assuming significant debt. Going into significant debt to keep a low profit margin business indefinitely, with no guarantee the situation would ever resolve in any reasonable amount of time, did not make sense. In March 2021, USA Fencing estimated that during the first 12 months of the pandemic about half of the fencing clubs in the USA closed indefinitely with no plans to re-open.
WHAT IS THE OVERALL STATUS OF THE CLUB?
We are in the process of changing from a for-profit sole proprietorship to a community-based, non-profit entity. We are talking to recreation councils, churches, and private schools about finding a new place to practice. We had some outdoor practices spring and summer of 2021, but we need a regular indoor facility to get back to some sense of normal training. If you know of any organization with space that might be willing to host us for a few hours each week, please us know.
WHEN WILL YOU HAVE BEGINNER CLASSES?
Not any time soon. First, we need to find a location for our fencers to be able to get back to training. Once we establish that on a regular basis, we'll investigate the possibility of beginner classes. Our current fencers have been without a home location for 18+ months, so our focus is on them.
IS THERE ANY PLACE IN THE AREA TO TAKE BEGINNER CLASSES?
There are two places we know of that are open and accepting beginners: Chesapeake Fencing Club in Towson and Academies of Fencing in Catonsville. Our friends at Modern Duelists in Elkton are open, but with limited hours only for their current members. They are not (to the best of our knowledge) running any beginner classes.
ARE YOU DOING ANY KIND OF ONLINE FENCING TRAINING/TEACHING?
We had online training for 2-3 months early in the pandemic. Fencing is hard to practice and teach in-person, harder still online via remote camera. We do not have any plans to return to online training.
By May 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government was clearly not handling the situation well. There was no clear end point even remotely in sight for closures. The club was never financially strong. It stayed in the black for the majority of its 10 years, but there were no savings, and no help would be forthcoming without the risk of possibly assuming significant debt. Going into significant debt to keep a low profit margin business indefinitely, with no guarantee the situation would ever resolve in any reasonable amount of time, did not make sense. In March 2021, USA Fencing estimated that during the first 12 months of the pandemic about half of the fencing clubs in the USA closed indefinitely with no plans to re-open.
WHAT IS THE OVERALL STATUS OF THE CLUB?
We are in the process of changing from a for-profit sole proprietorship to a community-based, non-profit entity. We are talking to recreation councils, churches, and private schools about finding a new place to practice. We had some outdoor practices spring and summer of 2021, but we need a regular indoor facility to get back to some sense of normal training. If you know of any organization with space that might be willing to host us for a few hours each week, please us know.
WHEN WILL YOU HAVE BEGINNER CLASSES?
Not any time soon. First, we need to find a location for our fencers to be able to get back to training. Once we establish that on a regular basis, we'll investigate the possibility of beginner classes. Our current fencers have been without a home location for 18+ months, so our focus is on them.
IS THERE ANY PLACE IN THE AREA TO TAKE BEGINNER CLASSES?
There are two places we know of that are open and accepting beginners: Chesapeake Fencing Club in Towson and Academies of Fencing in Catonsville. Our friends at Modern Duelists in Elkton are open, but with limited hours only for their current members. They are not (to the best of our knowledge) running any beginner classes.
ARE YOU DOING ANY KIND OF ONLINE FENCING TRAINING/TEACHING?
We had online training for 2-3 months early in the pandemic. Fencing is hard to practice and teach in-person, harder still online via remote camera. We do not have any plans to return to online training.