Important RSCDS updates
January 18, 2022
UPDATE 18/01/22
Sport Scotland Update - for Scottish Branches and Affiliated Groups
The Scottish Government has announced that the enhanced public health protection measures introduced on 26 December will be lifted from Monday 24 January.
Please continue to follow the previous Sport Scotland guidance:
Return to sport and physical activity guidance updated 15 December 2021
This guidance allows for participation in a wider range of sports and physical activity. During participation you should ensure you are applying physical distancing and good hygiene rules and following all other Scottish Government COVID-19 guidance.
UPDATE 21/12/21
Sport Scotland Update - for Scottish Branches and Affiliated Groups
* COVID-19 Update (Effective from 26th December 2021 for 3 weeks) *
On Tuesday 21 December, the First Minister provided an update to the Scottish Parliament on COVID-19 and related restrictions in response to the increasing challenge posed by the Omicron variant.
As part of the update the First Minister also confirmed enhanced measures will be put in place for up to three weeks from 26th December 2021 for ‘large scale events’ and ‘indoor contact sport for adults’. These measures include:
Indoor Contact Sport (adults)
• Professional and/or elite indoor contact sport with approved plans and protocols in place may continue with training and competition (click the link at the top of this update for more information).
• All other indoor (adult) contact sport and physical activity should not take place during this period.
UPDATE 17/12/2021
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 27 November 2021. Please login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
UPDATE 12/10/2021
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 25 September 2021. Please login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
UPDATE 19/07/2021
Good news - the Scottish Government has confirmed that all areas of Scotland have now moved into Level 0, which means that indoor Scottish country dancing is now permitted in Scotland for all age groups, provided appropriate safety measures are followed.
Please click the link below for a reminder of the RSCDS Return to Dancing Guidance:
UPDATE 12/07/2021
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 26 June 2021. Please login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
The 2021 Trustees' Report and Accounts is available to view here.
UPDATE 8/06/2021
Good news - we have been advised that outdoor Scottish country dancing can restart in Scotland, providing all activity is consistent with current Scottish Government guidance. Please click the link below to view the RSCDS Return to Dancing Guidance:
UPDATE 21/05/2021
We are now recruiting for a Marketing Officer to join the RSCDS staff team. To find out more and apply please visit the BTA website.
UPDATE 16/04/2021
We are delighted to announce that the Board has approved the appointment of Elizabeth Conder as the new RSCDS Treasurer. This will be confirmed at the AGM in November.
UPDATE 12/04/2021
HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh 1921-2021
It was with much sadness that we learned on Friday 9th April of the death of HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. As a Society, our thoughts at this time are with HM The Queen, Patron of RSCDS. Today, a letter of condolence will be sent to Her Majesty on behalf of all members, signed by our Honorary President Jean Martin, and myself.
Lorna Ogilvie, RSCDS Chairman
Members may have also read that the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral will take place on Saturday 17th April and in respect of that the virtual Spring Fling 2021 event scheduled for that day has been postponed. Instead, the Virtual Spring Fling will now take place on Saturday 24th April. Full details are on the website and Spring Fling social media.
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 27 March 2021. Please login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
Good news - physical shop orders are once more being despatched from the RSCDS Office on a weekly basis, so please remember to place your orders online by the Friday morning deadline.
UPDATE 02/03/2021
Following the Board's recent approval for the appointment of a 6-month Interim Marketing Director to take forward a comprehensive, and practical, marketing strategy, we are happy to announce that Ewan Watt has now been appointed. Ewan is highly experienced in both Communications and the Charity sector and will be supported in his new role by a small Advisory Panel of members, with international representation.
UPDATE 02/02/2021
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 30 January 2021. Please login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
With regret, Board members were unanimous in making the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Summer School in St Andrews.
Many factors were considered including uncertainty regarding a sufficient easing of restrictions to allow the resumption of close contact activities, like Scottish country dancing, despite the vaccination programme. There were financial viability questions if international dancers couldn’t travel, and availability of university accommodation in St Andrews was also severely limited this year.
This follows the cancellation of both the Winter School and Spring Fling events this year. However, details of our exciting new virtual Winter Evening (Saturday 27 February 2021) and virtual Spring Fling (Saturday 17 April 2021) events will be posted soon.
UPDATE 14/01/2021
Due to the updated COVID-19 restrictions in Scotland, physical shop orders will be despatched from the RSCDS Office as soon as possible once the Scottish Government restrictions have eased. However, the good news is that digital books and music are still available to purchase online as usual.
UPDATE 11/01/2021
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing COVID-19 considerations, the Unit 1 exams which were scheduled for February 2021 have now been postponed. It is hoped they will be rescheduled for the middle of 2021 and further updates will follow in February.
UPDATE 07/12/2020
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 28 November 2020. Login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
The new Chairman, Lorna Ogilvie, welcomed the Chairman Elect, William Williamson, and 6 new Board members. With regret the Board decided to cancel Spring Fling in Aberdeen from 2 - 4 April 2021.
UPDATE 01/12/2020
Due to the financial impact of COVID-19, we are very sad to confirm that both Julia Parr (Education and Training Officer) and Mairi Marshall (Administrative Receptionist) were made redundant at the end of October. Debbie Morris (Communications and Marketing Officer) also left the Society at the end of November in order to move to her new Marketing role at the University of Edinburgh. We are very grateful to all three for all their hard work and we are sure you will join us in wishing them well in their future endeavours. In the short term, workloads will be prioritised and reallocated among the remaining staff members and the Management Board will review plans for how best to proceed in the longer term. Thank you for your patience and understanding in the meantime.
UPDATE 07/10/2020
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 3 October 2020. Login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
With regret the Board decided to cancel Winter School 2021 because of the continuing restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
UPDATE 18/08/2020
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 15 August 2020. Login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
The Board thanked everyone who had contributed to A Summer Celebration: all the Dance Scottish At Home team, members of the Schools Committee, teachers, musicians and international school organisers. There had been a lot of positive feedback throughout the entire week.
UPDATE 15/07/2020
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 11 July 2020. Login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
With regret the Board decided to cancel the Autumn Gathering 2020 event. We will hold a remote AGM, hosted from the RSCDS Office, on 7 November 2020. A formal notification will be sent to branches and delegates shortly.
For branches and groups thinking about a resumption of dancing, some updated points for consideration are now available to help organisers plan events that are safe for dancers and musicians. These points have been prepared with input from medical experts and emphasise that branches and groups must adhere to local rules and regulations.
UPDATE 30/06/2020
The Board recently held a remote meeting on Saturday 27 June 2020. Login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
UPDATE 26/06/2020
We hope Dance Scottish At Home is keeping our members and fellow dancers and musicians entertained as we cope with the cancellation of so many Scottish dance events over the summer, not just Summer School at St. Andrews, but local dances and international schools all over the world. Even Summer School in New Zealand in December and January has been postponed.
We cannot re-create the magic of a Summer School online, but we are hosting a virtual celebration of Scottish dance from 27 – 31 July. Each evening there will be classes, music, talks, pictures and the chance to ‘chat’ with friends as we share some of the enjoyment of Scottish dancing. The finale to the week, on Saturday 1 August, will be a dance playlist chosen by our members.
Just like our weekly online classes, this celebration will feature internationally renowned teachers. There will also be special contributions from Teachers’ Association (Canada), New Zealand Branch and other countries where RSCDS schools should have been happening. In addition, a series of music workshops will be running throughout the week and there will be activities for children on our website.
More information will be released in the coming weeks, so keep an eye on the event listing and your Dance Scottish At Home eNewsletters for updates. You can prepare for the event by purchasing a limited-edition Dance Scottish – A Summer Celebration t-shirt or tote bag. We would love to see pictures of you sporting these items wherever you are in the world! Arrange a virtual or ‘bubble’ get together with your dancing friends that week and make A Summer Celebration a real social occasion.
UPDATE 02/06/2020
The Board recently held a remote emergency meeting on Saturday 30 May 2020. Login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
UPDATE 29/04/2020
The Board recently held a remote emergency meeting on Saturday 25 April 2020. Login to read the meeting highlights under the MB Noticeboard.
UPDATE 09/04/2020
We recently launched a new initiative - Dance Scottish At Home - as a way of connecting the Scottish country dance community worldwide. Distributed in the form of an eNewsletter, the email includes highlights from across social media, weekly challenge ideas for dancers, cultural articles, dance-themed puzzles and most recently, online Scottish country dance classes. If you haven't yet received an issue of Dance Scottish At Home from us, scroll to the bottom of this page and sign up to the eNewsletter.
Head over to the Dance Scottish At Home page to catch up on previous issues!
UPDATE 24/03/2020
The April issue of Scottish Country Dancer is due to be distributed on 1st April and will give members something to enjoy even though dances and classes have been cancelled. Members for whom we have an e-mail address will receive a digital copy. Members without e-mail will be sent a copy through the post as usual, but the postal service in some countries has been severely disrupted and we cannot give an assurance as to when it will arrive. If you haven't provided the office with a current e-mail address, then please update your details on the RSCDS database now or let the office know as soon as possible to be sure of receiving your digital copy.
We apologise that most members won't receive a paper copy of the magazine this time, but we are all facing extraordinary and uncertain circumstances. Digital distribution means we can avoid disruption of delivery for over 80% of members. If you experience any issues accessing your digital copy then please contact the office (info@rscds.org) for support.
UPDATE 23/03/2020
With deep regret the RSCDS has cancelled this year’s Summer School. This will be disappointing news for many dancers and musicians, but in face of the global health crisis and the uncertainty as to when normal social interaction can resume, the Board decided to act now in the interest of our members’ welfare and to give clarity to those who had planned to attend. Over the next few days the RSCDS team will be in touch with everyone who had booked a place at Summer School regarding the repayment of fees. Scholarships and places on examination courses can be rolled over to next year.
This follows the cancellation of the Spring Flings in St Petersburg and Toronto. The organisers of those events have begun contacting everyone who had booked to explain repayment arrangements. The associated Spring Fringe events, which are also cancelled, were being run by the local organising committees, and they will be in touch with the people who booked to attend. We would like to thank the local organisers for all their hard work.
The coming months are going to be difficult for everyone. The RSCDS intends to publish a regular eNewsletter aimed at giving members some entertainment and helping them to stay in touch with the dancing community. There will also be posts on our website and social media. We are looking at what we can do to stay connected with members who do not have a computer. Branches, too, are encouraged to maintain their social networks during the crisis.
Branches will receive a separate communication covering business related matters, which will attempt to answer questions about governance, administration and finance. It may be a couple of weeks before the first of those mailings is issued.
We all hope to be back dancing together in the not too distant future. Stay safe.
UPDATE 13/03/2020
RSCDS Chair Andrew Kellett has released a message to dancers and musicians, in the light of the Coronavirus situation.
It is important that we all take precautions to stay safe and follow national government and public health advice.
The priority of the RSCDS is the health and welfare of all dancers and musicians.
UPDATE 12/03/2020
Please note that with effect from Monday 16th March 2020, all RSCDS staff will be working remotely. This is in response to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in the UK.
We would like to reassure members and Branches that RSCDS staff will still be available to contact via email. General enquiries should be sent to info@rscds.org. Please also be aware that shop orders have been suspended until further notice - although this does not apply to digital orders which are available as downloads from our website (eBooks), or from Amazon, iTunes, Google Play and Spotify (music).
UPDATE 09/03/2020
Following the identification of the Coronavirus Covid-19 in various locations around the world, please visit the links below for the most up to date advice and guidance:
World Health Organisation Advice
or look on your national government websites.
Good practice for staying healthy
It may seem obvious, but a few precautions can go a long way to stop germs from spreading:
- Wash your hands prior to and directly after attending a dance class
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze
- Put used tissues in the bin straight away
- Wash your hands with soap and water often – use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available
- Try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell and please do not attend a dance, a class or a committee meeting if you are feeling unwell.
RSCDS Events
Please note that we are keeping the situation under review for both the Spring Fling and Summer School events.
If you are planning to travel to any RSCDS event wherever in the world, your insurance company might have some specific guidance on policies and cover for coronavirus. Even if you’re not travelling to an affected area, check the terms of your insurance and speak to your insurance provider if you have any questions or concerns.
Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice
View a PDF of this update:
