The CoViD19 Corona Virus situation - upcoming show changes and/or cancellations

[Dags]

We have today contacted everyone on our traders, gamers and other exhibitors list with this sad news, but we will, once again, be running a #PartizanintheCloud event on the day! More on that soon!   

After having cancelled the May Partizan we have spent the early summer watching the news and trying to work out whether or not we are going to be in a position to run The Other Partizan in its new October slot.

We had hoped that there might have been a sufficient return to 'normality' for us to go ahead with the show without restrictions but it is clear that, even if a vaccine is as advanced as we are hearing over the last few days, there is no way that it will be ready and distributed by October. A return to normality in any meaningful way by the time of the October show is just not realistic and it seems there will be no large scale indoor events going ahead for some while yet.

We have also considered whether it would be possible to run the show in a socially distanced, safe manner which would allow us to go ahead but with various measures and restrictions in place. We have considered ticketed time slots and various other measures but in the end they would amount to limiting the numbers of people who could attend with a serious knock on effect for the traders. We also know that many of those who put on games do not yet feel sufficiently safe that they would be happy attending an indoor event with many hundreds of people present - and that is if we were even allowed to go ahead, something that is not the case at present.

So as we did with the May show we have decided to make a decision early to allow people, particularly those who make a living out of the show circuit, to plan accordingly.

We are therefore announcing that The Other Partizan 2020 is cancelled. All being well our next show will be Partizan 2021 which will be held at Newark Showground on May 23rd 2021.

We also need to deal with the refund of traders fees for those who paid prior to the May show. When we offered to return the fees from the May show no one chose to take us up on the refund and all monies were transferred to payment for October. We do not feel that it is right to hold on to the money any longer now that the October show is cancelled and so will be arranging to return all monies as soon as possible. Since we still have a horribly archaic bank account, we will be doing this by posting you cheques and these should be with you within the next couple of weeks. Please note that a fair few traders had still not paid by the time of the May cancellation so obviously not everyone will be getting money back.   

We will be planning on holding another Partizan in the Cloud on 11th October - the last one was far more of a success than we had expected so we are keen to repeat it and improve on it. We hope we will have your support in this and we will contact you separately in a few days to see if you have ideas to make this another great virtual event!

Thanks for your ongoing support with the shows and I hope we will see you all again next May.

 
Best wishes

Richard, Laurence and Steve

[Dags]

Warfare 2020 Postponement

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the postponement of Warfare 2020 to 20201 due to the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 regulations.  We have held on for as long as possible in the hope that the situation for events of this size would normalise, however we now need to make a decision in order to give everyone time to plan their activities in November.

We are moving on to making sure Warfare 2021 will be a success. Warfare 2021 will be on the weekend of November 27th and 28th.  We will have the same Ascot Racecourse venue as was planned for this year and we are committed to making the most of the venue that will combine all the good things we have had in the past along with all of the new things we had planned for this year.

Thank you for your support of Warfare 2020. If you have already been kind enough to send us a deposit or pay for a tournament ticket for 2020 we will roll over your deposit and ticket to 2021. If you feel unable to commit to joining us next year, we will naturally return your deposit or refund your ticket.

Thanks to everyone who has either helped with the planning for this year or who has provided encouragement over the last few months.  Looking forward to a massive Warfare in 2021.

Tournament and Trade organisers will be in contact personally but if you have any queries please mail warclub@wargamesreading.co.uk

[Shahbahraz]

Belated advice for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Unfortunately, I have to announce that after lengthy discussion the Organising Committee has decided that we have no option but to cancel Targe 2020.

The pros and cons of this discussion were essentially; on the one hand, that we might well be the only wargames show in Scotland this year, and that it is a fantastic event. The other hand, was that we are still unclear what additional requirements if any, would be imposed by the school, our insurer, or Government.

Planning for Targe takes months and so we need to give certainty to traders and games organisers well in advance. There is also no guarantee that we won’t be experiencing a second spike of infections, and potentially again back in a strict lockdown. 

The factor uppermost in all our minds, is that traders, volunteers and participants would be in reasonably close proximity for extended periods, and given the demographics of much of the hobby; not only attendees, but traders, we would be devastated if someone became sick, or potentially suffered even more serious consequences from attending.  While there are some precautions that could be taken, these would not guarantee the safety of our friends, our hobby colleagues and ourselves. Socially distancing at a wargames show is an extraordinarily difficult thing to do, requiring physical precautions, as well as volunteers to police what some might see as arbitrary measures, and can only mitigate, not eliminate the risk.

Accordingly, we reached the conclusion that the show could not go ahead.

[Captain Blood]

Thanks for the updates. Shame about Warfare, although completely understandable under the circumstances. I was really looking forward to seeing the show in its new venue at Ascot (and away from the Godawful Rivermead Leisure Centre in Reading). Ah well, fast forward to 2021 I guess!

[Dags]

After careful consideration and discussions with our venue and other show organisers, we've reached the sad decision to cancel Battleground 2020.  The current Covid situation causes a whole host of problems for holding large events in crowded venues and the added factors are just too much currently:

- Face masks would have to be compulsory and we would have to refuse entry to anyone that didn't come with one.  Some folks might have health issues which permit them to not wear masks, which we would need to confirm at the door.

- We would need to implement a one-way system through the hall which would need to be policed by our staff.

- We would have to stagger the entry into the hall with some kind of ticketing system to keep the numbers in the hall to around 100-150 maximum.  The ticketing itself is a bit tricky but we might also have people complaining if they have to queue outside until the hall empties out sufficiently.

- We would need PPE and sanitation stations all over the hall, which is an added cost to deal with.

- We would need to hire the hall for an extra half-day to allow the traders a bigger window for unloading and packing away.  This incur more extra costs.

- The venue would have to perform a deep-clean before and after the event to make sure that they've covered their side.

All of that extra hassle and costs would mean that we'd be losing money on the event, whilst also asking the traders to take a gamble on something that might not be viable for them in terms of visitor numbers and sales.

With everything considered, the sensible option is to cancel this year's event and wait for this Corona situation to calm down.  Hopefully by the beginning of 2021 things will be under control and we might have a vaccine.

​We'll update everyone as to the date for 2021 as soon as we can.  Currently the Warfare show in Ascot have moved their event into our usual slot, but we're waiting to hear back from them about whether that's a permanent change.

[Tactalvanic]

Its all a shame, but not unexpected, thanks again for the info bursts Dags, much appreciated reminders.

Although could say that out of all of it they should have introduced at least one way system in the old venue regardless years ago 

Roll on 2021, maybe I will have some money to put on something then.

[beren]

The 27th September event can go ahead - however we can only let 18-20 members of the public into the hall as only 30 at this moment in time are allowed in the hall at anyone time.

Buyers will be let into the hall in 15 minute intervals and can join the queue again if they haven't spent out already or wish to come in to browse / shop again. Seems like the only way to fairly let folks have a fair look around.

Will open up earlier and close later if necessary.

And of course follow strict guidelines.

The sellers will be asked to have multiple tables of goodies for sale so there is still loads of stuff on offer.

I am looking at trying to sort this still and will get back to you all if it is fully up and running.

Any feedback gratefully received.

Thank

[Dags]

Vapnatak 2021 has gone. From their FB page....

Sad to say we have had to pull the show for 2021. The continued situation and uncertainty around Covid 19, we don't know how we could get 2000 visitors, exhibitors and members safely in a covid secure manner in to the Knavesmire stand. The rules are in flux and we could have got the show organised to face a local lockdown or change in the rules with no notice.
Too big a risk to ourselves, our visitors and the reputation of the show.

[Thunderboy]

So with 4week left to go.
Here's the poster of what & who will be there!

[manic _miner]

 Looking forward to this Ryan.

[robh]

Looking forward to this Ryan.

 
Still have an unused cupboard somewhere to hide more stuff then?

[Dags]

BOYL 2020 is cancelled.   

We are sorry to announce that we have decided to cancel the October rescheduled date for Bring Out Your Lead due to the ongoing risks of Coronavirus.   This is a community event and our aim is for the whole community to be able to enjoy it risk free.   This isn’t achievable given the current Coronavirus situation.

BOYL 2021 dates have been set for Friday 30th and Saturday 31st July & Sunday 1 August.

[manic _miner]

Still have an unused cupboard somewhere to hide more stuff then?

 Just need to move stuff around and squeeze in what i can Rob .

[beren]

And cancelled again - FFS

[Westfalia Chris]

From the separate announcement threads,

ThunderCon in the Netherlands (scheduled for Sept 19)

as well as the

Penkridge Wargames Tabletop Sale (Sept 27)

had to be cancelled.