After almost six months of closure due to Covid-19, Dagenham Boxing Club reopens this week in a Covid-secure environment.

Club boxers have taken part in over 60 online Zoom training sessions and outdoor training sessions while waiting for the national governing body to give them the green light to continue operations.

And although it’s definitely a welcoming prospect to get back in the gym, it will have completely different operating procedures, schedules and activities.

These include a new risk assessment which has been approved as Covid-secure by local and national governing bodies.

New planned operating times, shorter sessions, far fewer participants in each group and less sessions make it very different to classes held prior to the start of the lockdown.

Sparring and padwork isn’t yet permitted and the gym has been carefully subdivided into areas for individuals training, with a one-way walkway between training areas. New touchless sanitisers have been added around the gym, with lots of new signage. But changing rooms are out of bounds and toilets operate on a one-in, one out basis.

The club also has new Covid cleaning procedures in place to ensure it does everything possible to help stop the spread of the virus, including temperature checks prior to entry and a track and trace system for all who enter the gym.

Additional ‘cleaning stations’ have been added to the gym, with a cleaning rota for volunteers. A new vaporised anti-viral fogging machine will be used to eliminate any other possibility of Covid spread.

Equipment sharing is now a thing of the past and all places in group sessions must be booked in advance. A club statement said: “We really have taken the virus seriously and worked hard to get our Covid-secure status. There isn’t any competition planned this year and everything obviously depends on how the virus spreads in the coming weeks.

“I want to thank all members – especially our parent support team, who have been incredibly patient throughout the pandemic. Also our generous supporters who contributed to our ‘KO Covid-19’ fundraising efforts via social media and Gift Aid, and friends and family of our former coach Billy Graydon, who sadly passed away during the pandemic.”