The First Minister today published the Scottish Government’s Road Map to easing the lockdown restrictions.

A full copy of the Scottish Government document can be found at : Scotland's Route Map Out Of Lockdown

On first inspection there is good news for the sport of Archery as a non-contact sport.

It will be permissible under Phase 1 of the easement process however it is not a general relaxation that allows all archery activities to restart, nor indeed for all archers to resume shooting at club facilities.

Under Phase 1 the easement relates to outdoor activity only and subject to strict guidance as to what constitutes permitted to travel to undertake outdoor leisure or exercise.

In the Scottish Government’s published document Permitted Travel is explained as follows :

Permitted to travel short distances for outdoor leisure and exercise but advice to stay within a short distance of your local community [broadly within 5 miles] and travel by walk, wheel and cycle where possible.

In addition, the Scottish Government’s published document in respect of Gatherings and Occasions states:

In this phase we are expecting no public gatherings except for meetings of two households and then only outdoors and with physical distancing.

For the sport of Field Archery these two statements have major implications for the resumption of our sport and should inform our members and affiliated clubs of the continued and on-going duties expected of them under existing regulations.

Only a tiny minority of our membership can legally comply with the individual short distance permitted travel obligation.

The Gatherings and Occasions restrictions complicate the procedures a club must ensure it has put in place, can demonstrate and exercise control over and take legal responsibility for. These obligations will be onerous for a volunteer led sport.

Summary

In summary therefore Field Archery can be re-commenced, once the Scottish Government confirms its position in a statement it is legally obliged to make, on the 28th of May 2020, subject to any lead-in timescales, but by only a small number of our members and clubs subject to the following;

• Individual clubs must make informed decisions based on their own ability to control access to their facilities ensuring compliance to the Gatherings and Occasions regulations.
• Clubs must be prepared to accept their legal duty of care, and to be able to demonstrate compliance to regulation, if required, to the relevant authorities.
• Clubs must ensure, and demonstrate, that their landowner accedes to their resumption of activity and that it does not compromise wider regulatory obligations in relation to public access to the countryside, agricultural/forestry operations or fisheries
• Once a club has taken, and documented, its decision to re-open it must advise its membership of the controls and risk mitigation measures it has implemented and how the membership must comply with those requirements.
• It will remain the personal responsibility of the individual archer to ensure that they have complied in full with the government’s regulations and guidelines, including both the ‘5 mile’ permitted travel and the ‘two household’ gatherings and meetings guidance, in force at the time of any activity they personally undertake.
• Individual archers found to be deliberately flouting regulations and guidance and/or acting in a socially irresponsible or illegal manner must recognise that the SFAA Ltd insurance policy may be invalidated by such actions and that SFAA Ltd, as the governing body, reserves the right to review the on-going membership status of any such member and that the member will be fully and personally liable for any financial and/or legal consequences of any incident arising out of their actions.
• The SFAA Competitions Calendar remains suspended meantime.