[woodcote]

Fingers remain crossed, but we do seem on course to get back racing in April. Mike D, Simon and I will be checking over the digital equipment at the beginning of March. Then we’ll start back with these three FREE events:

• Wednesday 16 March: HO warm-up event – invite only.
  
• Wednesday 6 April: WHO Mod – Round 4 of the 2020/2 season
  
• Wednesday 20 April: Digital Wednesday – Round 1 of the 2022 season.
  

Of course, the Covid pandemic hasn’t gone away. However, the situation is very much safer now for the vast majority of people – thanks to the vaccines, boosters and anti-viral treatments. The next month or two may still be a little unpredictable, but the expectation is that infection rates will be much reduced by April and through the summer. We may need to be flexible next winter, but I don’t anticipate having to cancel any events.

Some people – including a few WHO racers and family members – are less well protected and remain at high risk if they catch Covid. The church are requesting users of the Barn observe these common-sense precautions for the time being:

• Everyone to wear face masks inside the Barn
  
• Everyone regularly sanitizes their hands during the event
  
• Limit attendance to a maximum of 50 seated or 30 for more active events.
  

I suggest we also do the following for our WHO events – at least to begin with:

• Keep both doors open to ventilate the hall throughout the evening
  
• Keep the kitchen off-limits for the moment
  
• Encourage racers to take a lateral flow test before travelling to the Barn
  
• Insist that if anyone has tested positive, has any symptoms or has recent contact with someone testing positive, they do not attend the event.
  

In terms of our racing formats, observing the common-sense precautions means we can race fairly normally. The only things I think we should be careful with are:

• HO controllers – racers will be given one club controller for the evening
  
• Digital controllers – teams keep one controller for the evening
  
• Race control – restrict computer use to a maximum of two people
  

There are few minor details about running the events that we need to sort out at the warm-up events, but I am satisfied we can make the Barn a safe enough place for us to return. Of course, we’ll review all this every month – but I think we’re at a point when we can all get back racing together without having to stop and start when cases rise. If you have any questions or comments, do get in touch.