On 30 July the First Minister for Scotland provided an update, 3 weeks after announcing the move into Phase 3. The update confirmed that Scotland is progressing well but is not yet ready to move into Phase 4 and therefore Phase 3 is likely to continue for another 3 weeks. The majority of the update focused on the return to schools in August in Scotland however there was some news with more direct relevance to shooting.
STS has been working with sportscotland and other sports to clarify and can highlight the following points from the latest announcement:
Shielding has now essentially been suspended, which means that individuals previously shielding can now undertake coaching and participate in sport in line with the guidance for the wider public.
From Monday 3rd August, coaching will get some dispensation. For coaching purposes only, numbers in a coaching session will still be restricted to 15 people but the limit on the number of households will be removed.
From Monday 24 August live events will be allowed but THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO SPORTS events and competitions. Currently sports competitions in Scotland are still restricted to intra-club (between members of the same club). We appreciate that for some disciplines this will be meaningless and essential mean that no competitions can take place yet.
From 14 September it may be possible to return to indoor sport but the First Minister made it clear that this is under review and a further update will be provided in 3 weeks’ time. It was suggested that a return to some indoor sport could be brought forward to the end of August and STS is making the case that shooting is included in any accelerated return.
As we learn more detail from the announcement, we will be sure to bring further updates. We will also be looking to update our guidance on the back of this, although as highlighted above, the changes will be minor.
We will continue our discussions with sportscotland and the Scottish Government around the return to indoor shooting and outdoor shooting competitions in the hope that shooting can be at the forefront of any return. We understand the frustrations faced by the shooting community the pace and priority of returning to sport is low. This frustration is felt across the whole sporting sector and we are working with our colleagues in other Scottish Governing Bodies, to increase the pace of this return.