From May 18, the third stage of loosening restrictions will take place. How does it affect the situation of airsoft players in Poland?
According to assumptions that have appeared some time ago, "sports events on an open field, up to 50 people, without audience participation" were moved to the fourth stage. Some will probably notice that the wording has been changed to "events".
Regulations and mitigation introduced in the third stage continue to apply to sports facilities, not public forests. For many recent days players have been accompanied by dilemmas regarding the nature of airsoft games and how they can be seen in the light of opening forests and parks for individual recreation.
Today an article has appeared on gov.pl containing answers to many different questions. Unfortunately, they seem to explicitly exclude the possibility of legally conducting airsoft games in forest areas during the third stage of loosening of restrictions. Below is a quote of selected questions and answers:
43. When will it be possible to run running or cycling events?
Sports events in the open air for up to 50 people, without the participation of the public, can be organized after the introduction of the fourth stage of "defrosting" sport.
Due to the prevailing situation related to the announced state of the epidemic on the territory of the Republic of Poland, which is monitored and analyzed on an ongoing basis, at the moment it cannot be said when the Council of Ministers' regulation will change in this respect. This is due to a number of factors influencing the decisions that are changing dynamically every day.
47. What about group activities in the open air, e.g. in a park? Can I organize training for volunteers outside the sports facility? What is the limit of people then? Will amateur running/cycling training for up to 14 people in the field be allowed?
Organizing group training in an open space, except for the objects listed in the regulation, is not possible.
Therefore everything indicates that despite the admission, under certain rules, of the possibility of practicing many sports (which often involve close contact) and the use of various sports facilities, also enclosed ones, airsoft in public open areas still conflicts with government guidelines.
However, among the unpleasant messages from the point of view of airsoft, there are positive accents. First of all, the tone of point 4.3 allows us to hope that in the next stage of loosening the restrictions sport practiced outside sports facilities will be included - as long as the new guidelines are not changed again or specified only for sports facilities or officially organized sporting events.
The second positive accent is the direct inclusion in the description of the third stage of opening paintball facilities and allowing a maximum of 14 people to stay on such facilities + 2 trainers.
It remains for us to believe that the coronavirus-related situation will improve, which will allow further loosening of the restrictions. There is a chance that the next stage will contain more positive information for airsoft enthusiasts.
