What will you do ?

[Jonny English]

I think that there will have to be changes to the way most registered are run if this is to be taken seriously. The handling of score cards is a major problem, the possibility of cross contamination with individual cards is an issue. I think to take the matter seriously any shoot with score cards needs to look to be run with 1 scorer taking a squad round and them alone handling the cards. Orston used to run every Sunday shoot like this when Charlie and Linda owned it, and it worked very well, scorers just need to be well briefed on the stands before the start.

 

[Cosmicblue]

It's great to see that we can still look past this crisis period to the future - however given the known facts it's unlikely that the lock-down/movement restrictions will be completely relaxed anytime soon.  I believe the government are caught in tricky dilemma between the scientific advisors/NHS resources/will of the people and economic pressures....so as of today 26th of March:

In just 52 days

148,000 (approx) people have confirmed had the virus

20,800 (approx) have (sadly) died

There are no effective drugs to combat the disease and no vaccine to protect those that haven't had it - and already a suspicion that it's possible to be infected a second time.

There are over 67.8 million people in the UK.   A tiny percentage of the population have had the virus and the fatality rate is horrendous.

An educated guess is that for economic reasons alone the government will have to ease the lock-down restrictions for commerce, the infection rate will inevitably climb, and the lock-down will be reintroduced - repeat until a proven vaccine/drugs are available - best guesses suggest second half of 2021.

Sporting venues, pubs and restaurants will almost inevitably stay closed as they are not essential/have people in close proximity. 

I've figured we are in for the long haul so am having a serious stab at learning to play electric guitar - golly my finger tips hurt now.

 

[Bebo]

I've pretty much written this season off.  I'm anticipating that we are going to have to put up with some form of social distancing for at least a year.  That might mean the odd social shoot if we can be confident that the grounds are managing access effectively, but I doubt I'll get to another Registered shoot in 2020.

 

[wynno]

I agree withBebo, 2020 will be seen as the year that never was.

Even though some major international shoots are tentatively suggesting that they will take place, somehow I doubt it for a number of reasons.

Travel.... will airlines be up and running, charging fares that are reasonable or expensive 

Hotels.... will they still be in business

Social distancing...how will they achieve that

I haven’t shot since early March, and to be honest I haven’t missed it as much as I would have thought, what I have missed though is the interaction between friends and fellow shooters. The cup of tea before and a bacon bap afterwards, it was something to relish on a Sunday morning.

The one glimmer of light in the distance, is that shooting will return albeit in a somewhat different scenario, squads possibly and have a dedicated scorer with each squad, perhaps face masks will become as essential as eye and ear protection...mandatory even.

 I look forward to the time when I step into the cage, call pull and I hear the scorer going pair lost..... a bittersweet moment methinks.

 

[Paul120]

It's great to see that we can still look past this crisis period to the future - however given the known facts it's unlikely that the lock-down/movement restrictions will be completely relaxed anytime soon.  I believe the government are caught in tricky dilemma between the scientific advisors/NHS resources/will of the people and economic pressures....so as of today 26th of March:

In just 52 days

148,000 (approx) people have confirmed had the virus

20,800 (approx) have (sadly) died

There are no effective drugs to combat the disease and no vaccine to protect those that haven't had it - and already a suspicion that it's possible to be infected a second time.

There are over 67.8 million people in the UK.   A tiny percentage of the population have had the virus and the fatality rate is horrendous.

An educated guess is that for economic reasons alone the government will have to ease the lock-down restrictions for commerce, the infection rate will inevitably climb, and the lock-down will be reintroduced - repeat until a proven vaccine/drugs are available - best guesses suggest second half of 2021.

Sporting venues, pubs and restaurants will almost inevitably stay closed as they are not essential/have people in close proximity. 

I've figured we are in for the long haul so am having a serious stab at learning to play electric guitar - golly my finger tips hurt now.

Just looking for Rainbows to put against the news and numbers they present on the TV everyday and what the Mrs tells me after coming off shift from the frontest of front lines. 

We're not out of this yet due to the majority  of us sticking to the guidelines (although walking down the A6 with the dog  on my daily walk to the park it makes you wonder) This  could go on for a very long  time however as discussions about opening up sport are being planned by the goverment to included professional sports and "some" outdoor sports it felt  to be an appropriate  time to bring it up. 

Just to put it out there.    Once it's safe enough to do so, opportunities to adapt to the new normal may become possible and be part of the planned discussions with the goverment. Not just dismissd as it's only Clay shooting. Hopefully the CPSA etc will be invited  to these talks to work through how it could be done e.g  Practice at nearby clubs following guidelines could be re introduced. Maybe even under a pre booking scheme to manage numbers.  Registered to resume later when the world gets back to normal.    

Some other sports have already set up virtual competitions. Obviously  sports that can be done at home in the garden etc. 

Perhaps something similar could be done for as a DTL. ABT. or compact with standard set of targets held at local grounds and registered centrally. 

To me this would be like playing football/rugby/Cricket   behind closed doors and have a commercial benefit to the shooting industry.

I feel your pain with the fingers. Mine don't bother me now but remember how sore they got.

 

[McTrucky]

There is serious talk of the GB F1 grand prix happening this summer, with no crowd.  Even with a scaled back pit crew, that still means over 1000 people working in the pit lane with very little social distancing being possible.  Similar discussion is happening for football etc.

How to legislate this will have to come down to participants and helpers being allowed to compete (but not against their will by way of contracts etc), but no non televised spectating allowed.  I don't believe any sort of 'immunity passport' system will be relevant as we do not yet know if there is such a thing as immunity, and secondly, can you imagine the legal ramifications if players infect other players and so on?

If this happens, then it is difficult to justify why amateur sport can not re-start with no spectators, and clear guidance that anyone with symptoms stays away.

So I believe by mid or later summer we will be back at work (adopting new practices and behaviours), back shooting and free to travel.  But cinemas, theatres, stadiums, arenas etc will stay closed.  Pubs and restaurants are somewhere between the two.

All we can do at this stage is allow the disease to spread in as controlled a fashion as possible to prevent overwhelming surges in cases.  We cannot wait for a vaccine, we also need to be aware that this will happen again and again for all time, so being better prepared for the next one has to happen with faster introduction of containment measures.

 

[Jan Powell]

My best guess based upon conversations with those in the industry is that we’ll be back shooting late May/early June with the obvious hygiene safeguards in place. Certainly the ground owners I’ve spoken to are looking at this timeframe. As far as trap’s concerned it won’t be too difficult to achieve. Arrive at the ground no earlier than 30 minutes before your squad time, one in/one out of the clubhouse, pay by card, shoot, check scores and leave. Cafe’s closed, bring your own food and drink if you wish.

I’d have thought for sporting it’ll be more difficult, not least because the number of participants is greater and for many of those it’s as much a social occasion as a shooting opportunity. Would they be prepared to tolerate a change to what they know and enjoy, particularly when the cost of participation is considered.

Whatever happens the country needs to move forward as soon as possible, taking the lead from our European neighbours. I feel we’re getting to the point where the long term impact of the lockdown will be worse than the reason for it.

 

[Freddypip]

Phase 2 will involve track and trace of those infected allowing local hot spots to be be isolated. It is dependent on quick and easily available testing. Once those are in place, local risk assessment and social distancing should allow local events to take place in a similar way to visiting a supermarket etc. Much depends upon those attending being sensible - say visit only the club you are a member of - and not ignoring the general principals necessary to minimize exposure. The plan will be to keep R below 1 (perhaps 0.7) which means sooner or later it dies out.

I cannot see that any mass events will take place for 12 months or more and most sport will be behind closed doors as a result. Grand Prix racing, with 1,000 people together for 4 days makes no sense to me - though I don't quite get cars driving in circles for 2 hours anyway. The same was true of the Cheltenham Festival but then the betting industry has never really cared about how many people it kills.

 

[Robden]

F1 behind closed doors. Does that mean no public but still televised?  If so, they will still make a lot of money from Sky etc.

 

[Jan Powell]

An update from the CPSA...

https://www.cpsa.co.uk/news/coronavirus-covid-19/2020/04/28/24-april-letter-to-clubs-and-grounds/5407

 

[Will Hewland]

F1 behind closed doors. Does that mean no public but still televised?  If so, they will still make a lot of money from Sky etc.

SIlverstone barely makes anything from the F1 GP when it’s rammed with spectators, so a special deal with Liberty Media must be going on to make it possible. 

 

[ColinD]

They maybe hosting more than one race so hopefully can recoup some of the loss from spectators via Liberty Media

 

[westley]

I think that there will have to be changes to the way most registered are run if this is to be taken seriously. The handling of score cards is a major problem, the possibility of cross contamination with individual cards is an issue. I think to take the matter seriously any shoot with score cards needs to look to be run with 1 scorer taking a squad round and them alone handling the cards. Orston used to run every Sunday shoot like this when Charlie and Linda owned it, and it worked very well, scorers just need to be well briefed on the stands before the start.

Cross contamination of scorecards eh  ??  Correct me if I am wrong BUT,  was that not occurring prior to Covid19  ??

 

[wynno]

Cross contamination of scorecards eh  ??  Correct me if I am wrong BUT,  was that not occurring prior to Covid19  ??

Ohh ...... and there is NO vaccination available 

 

[El Spavo]

 I've figured we are in for the long haul so am having a serious stab at learning to play electric guitar - golly my finger tips hurt now.

Well, having taught guitar, can I recommend you get the beatles hits guitar book, one with a gold coin looking thing on the front, and just get stuck into that. Easy to read, songs you recognise, not many chords on some songs,... Fast progression cos you'll be able to play stuff you actually know will spur you on.

 

[Jonny English]

Cross contamination of scorecards eh  ??  Correct me if I am wrong BUT,  was that not occurring prior to Covid19  ??

Indeed, kills two birds with one stone 

 

[westley]

Maybe 'social distancing' will stop those clowns that try to join you on the stand and then proceed to wave their arms around 'tracking' the clay  !     

 

[Luke_(NL)]

So... Things at my end of the North Sea are reason for cautious optimism. Starting this week, the gov' is easing up on the lockdown-rules, allowing for outside sports to take place provided that they don't result in large gatherings and that all obey the 5-ft distance rules. This means the clay-grounds are back in (limited) business, mostly on "reserve first" basis and without the hospitality services (no bar, no food). I have a slot reserved for the coming sunday afternoon, and I can't wait. Hope that goes for all of you very soon. 

 

[Bebo]

Difficult to tell over here, as we're currently getting a load of vague waffle and little hard detail.  From what I can see, it looks like start of July before they'll let the grounds open, but it depends on what they classify them as.

 

[Will Hewland]

Difficult to tell over here, as we're currently getting a load of vague waffle and little hard detail.  From what I can see, it looks like start of July before they'll let the grounds open, but it depends on what they classify them as.

Eriswell Lodge opens on Saturday! Bold move.