COVID-19: First Minister’s Statement on 28 May
Today, Thursday 28th May 2020, the Scottish First Minister confirmed that Phase 1 of the recovery plan would now be enacted as a result of the improved situation in Scotland regarding the spread of COVID-19. Phase 1 will come into force from tomorrow, Friday 29 May, and enables a relaxation of lockdown around some outdoor exercise, meaning that some sporting activities can now be undertaken outdoors, providing all activity is consistent with current Scottish Government guidance on health, physical distancing and hygiene – information on Scottish Governments approach to managing covid-19 is available at www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/.
For some shooting clubs this will mean that a return to OUTDOOR shooting can now begin to be considered, on the condition that it is safe to do so and does not contravene any of the Scottish Government guidance.
At Scottish Target Shooting we are developing guidance to support clubs operating outdoors to begin to reopen their facilities and to allow the phased return of the sport while still respecting the guidance from the Scottish Government while protecting the health and safety of members. We are working with the guidance issued by the CPSA, NRA and NSRA, as well as consulting with partners at Police Scotland, SCTA, WTSF and British Shooting. We are determined to make sure the guidance we provide around the phased return to shooting is consistent, even if the timescales for return varies across the Home Nations.
We are developing our guidance in partnership with sportscotland to ensure that it aligns with messaging from Scottish Government and with any messaging being delivered by other outdoor sports in Scotland.
We are aware that clubs and members will be keen to re-open as soon as possible and as such are working quickly to prepare appropriate guidance, but due to the number of partner bodies we are ensuring we include in this conversation, combined with sportscotland sign off, it will take us a few more days to get this done. We are aiming to get this guidance out, around a return to outdoor shooting in Phase 1, next week. However, as with all guidance on such matters, the document will be broad and subject to regular updates.
Recognising each club is different, it will be the responsibility of each club committee to consider the guidance and decide the most suitable procedures and timescales that work best for reopening outdoor facilities, grounds and/or ranges.
Finally, once our guidance for Phase 1 has been circulated, we will move on to consider guidance for the following Phases and circulate this to members. Again, due to the nature of this pandemic, we will not be able to include timescales for Phases until they are released from Scottish Government, however, we hope a fuller document covering all Phases at that point, that will provide a reference point for clubs, including exclusively indoor ranges, to start planning a return to shooting in a way that protects members from this pandemic.
We thank you all for your support and understanding and look forward to working with you to support the phased return of our sport.