Muscat, (ONA) - The Oman Fencing Committee (OFC) has resumed its activities and programs by launching training for the main players in the national fencing teams at Al Seeb Sports Stadium, while ensuring that all health requirements and preventive precautions prescribed by the competent authorities are taken.

Oman fencing head coach, Hisham Karshood, stated that it is great to return back to the normal sporting activity. “After an absence for more than half a year, we are delighted to resume the fencing activities. Definitely, the returning back to the physical training at this tough time will require a cautious resumption of the sporting activities. We believe the safety of the players is the top concern for us and in accordance with that we have implemented strict medical regulations and rules to ensure the safety of the players,” he added.

“We have two phases for the resumption of the fencing training programmes. The first phase is the commencement of the training by the national fencing team players only while the rest of the players can join the training when the pandemic situation will be in a safe position and the number of cases drops down.”

“We have grouped the national team players into three batches. The first group will begin training from 10 am until 12 noon and for five days weekly. The second batch starts from 4 pm to 6 pm and for three days weekly. The last batch training sessions kick off at 6 pm to 8 pm and it is scheduled for five days. In each group, there are eight to twelve players only. We have tried to reduce the number of the players and distribute them into groups to avoid the big gatherings,” the head coach pointed out.

Coach Karshood explained that the committee pays great attention to the safety of players, as many special tools have been provided to ensure their safety, as a special training suit for each player has been made, along with other tools such as helmet, sword, gloves, and other personal tools. He also stated that the training at this stage will be individual, and in the event of a challenge between two players, the distance between them is at least four meters to ensure the achievement of physical distancing, in addition to focusing on individual training sessions and postponing group training sessions until further notice.

(ONA)