Islington Boxing Club set to reopen following four-month closure due to coronavirus

The Hazellville Road facility will have to comply with government regulations, with certain measures put in place.

The biggest change for most people to adapt to will be the online pre-pay booking system which is now up and running at https://booking.islingtonboxingclub.org.

Reggie Hagland said: “We have had no alternative but to implement a pre-book system because we are restricted to numbers in classes that we would normally exceed.

“We hope people find the system easy to use. If you have any difficulty, please contact me on 07786 080885 and I will do my best to help and guide you through the process.

“Please take care to book onto the correct class and pay the correct fee for your membership status. We believe, once you have done it once it will be quite easy to pre-book all your sessions/classes in advance.”

Slight changes have been made to class times, but Hagland is hoping all can enjoy a safe return to the sport.

He added; “It’s been a long break but hopefully in time we will get back to normal life. The club have managed with the help of Zowie and Jason Campbell, Wojciech Rychlewski and Del McCann, who all gave their time voluntarily, to do some decorating of the gym.

“Some improvements and also a number of deep cleans have also been executed. There will be ongoing cleaning procedures in place before and after every session. We hope that everyone does their best to follow the protocols put in place.

“We would like to thank all our members and supporters for the very generous donations to the club whilst we have been closed and to those members who have raised money for the club by doing various activities.

“It has been a fabulous response and one which has certainly helped to keep the doors of IBC open. Our Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/islingtonboxingclub is always open for donations.

“Management, staff and coaches of IBC are really looking forward to welcoming you back to the gym and getting the classes started.”

Key information:

*The club building measures 7640 sq.ft, therefore according to England Boxing guidelines from the government we can now have a total of 76 people within the building at any one time. That is at a ratio of 100sq.ft per person.

*We have set a maximum of 36 people for the ground floor gym and 26 people in the 1st floor gym, in line with the square footage allowance. This will give us enough room per person and allow for the relevant coaches & staff at any one session.

*We will also require all users to observe social distancing protocols as much as possible when within the club and at all times to observe all procedures set by the club regarding Covid 19.

*Due to total number restrictions, the club we will be implementing an online pre-pay booking system for every class held from 5pm and also the Saturday lunchtime recreational session.

*The link to the online pre-pay booking system is: https://booking.islingtonboxingclub.org

*On the pre-pay system you may notice that for recreational classes the price shows £12 per session. That price is for an adult non-member. A discount for your relevant membership status will be deducted when selecting from the drop-down list. Please ensure you select the correct option.

*Your online booking will be checked at reception to verify that your membership status is the correct status for you pre booking. Any discrepancies will need to be paid before the session starts.

*The online booking system will allow you to book up to 10-days in advance for any session/class.

*We regret that we have no choice but to increase session/class prices for both recreational and academies by at least £1 per session. This is to cover the extra costs involved following the Covid 19 restrictions/implementations and reduction in numbers.

*All session/class prices for competitive squad training have now been moved to payment per session rather than per week. This will be reviewed at a later date. This is to cover the extra costs involved following the Covid 19 restrictions/implementations and reduction in numbers.

*Unfortunately, we are unable to accept monthly payments for unlimited recreational boxing. This will be reviewed at a later date.

*Reinaldo’s weekday lunchtime recreational class (Mon, Wed & Fri) and also weekday Solo training (Monday, Wednesday & Friday 8am – 5pm & Saturday 8am-12pm) can be booked online if you prefer to do so but this is not mandatory.

*Those that pre-book online will be guaranteed a slot for the session booked.

*If any particular session is fully booked online, the system will not allow any further numbers.

*We will only accept walk-ins (not pre-booked) on the day if we have availability for that session. We cannot guarantee a space and you may well be disappointed.

*A strict NO REFUNDS policy for all pre booked sessions will be in place. We have maximum numbers in each session, and you have booked a place. If you don’t turn up for your session you forfeit the fee.

*No parents/guardians or any other spectators will be allowed to watch any recreational, competitive or academy class from within the club.

*However, we will allow parents/guardians of infants to spectate at the infant classes only because of the young age of the children. This is with a strict limit of one parent/guardian per child.

*Our Infants Classes will resume as from Tuesday 4th August 2020 and will be running as per normal timetable (Tuesday & Thursday’s from 4:30pm-5:30pm) during the summer holidays.

*A Covid 19 supervisor will be onsite at all times to ensure protocols are adhered to as much as possible and to help guide users of the club with these measures.

*We ask that all users are changed and ready for training and try to avoid using the club changing rooms.

*The kitchen for drinking water will be out of bounds. Please bring your own filled water bottle or alternatively cold bottled water can be purchased at the club, price 50p.

*All boxers to use their own equipment ie: boxing gloves wherever possible.

*If you choose to use boxing gloves supplied by the club, you are then required to wear disposable/latex gloves underneath your handwraps/bandages. We would hope you could personally supply your own disposable/latex gloves, if not a limited supply will be available at the club.

*If using club boxing gloves, please use the same pair throughout the session. We will then disinfect all gloves after the session.

*The wearing of facemasks is optional for staff, coaches and users.

*Please arrive no more than 15 minutes prior to your session start time. If you do arrive earlier, please wait outside in the car park until you are invited in.

*Please leave the building ASAP once your session has ended to return to your home to shower. No loitering in the gym/building after your session has finished.

*Please form a social distancing queue of 1+ meter in the car park and wait to be invited to enter the gym.

*Hand sanitising and body temperature check will be conducted upon entry.

*Anyone with a temperature above 37.2c will be asked to go home and seek advice from their GP before returning to the club.

*If you are feeling unwell prior to your session. Please do not attend.

*Please use the main entrance only for entry to the gym. Use the fire escape door located near the weights room on ground floor and the fire door in the upper level gym for exit.

*Until further notice, the club will be closed on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s until 4pm to enable a thorough deep clean of the premises every week.

*Between sessions, we will be disinfecting all areas with fogging machines to make the environment Covid 19 safe.

*Some classes may have slightly differing times of start/finish. Please refer to our Temporary Covid 19 timetable.

*Wristbands will be issued to all pre-paid participants at each class in all sessions whether they are junior or senior upon entry and registration.

*We will require you to wear the wristbands visibly whilst in your session. These can be applied to your wrist or ankle as long as we can see them.

*The club does welcome new and former members to join IBC, Memberships (for the calendar year) have been discounted. Please refer to Temporary Covid 19 timetable.