Dear Friends, Supporters, and Swordplay Fans!
We couldn’t be more thankful for all the contributions we have received throughout the campaign, both big and small. Your support has reminded us how important Academie Duello is in our community for our members, students, and supporters from around the world (so many of you!).
We started this campaign with the desperate hope that our community wouldn’t let this special place succumb to such a drastic and sudden turn of fate. You didn’t let us down. Over the course of this campaign we have raised over $45,000 which has been crucial to our survival. Thanks to you we were able to make it through the hardest parts of the shutdown and to reopen our doors this month to offer our unique programs again.
Your contributions helped us keep our administrative staff (Ben, Miguel, Kajetan, and Quintin) working, and our teachers (Aaron, Adrian, Audrey, Ben, Caron, Clint, Devon, Eric, Erin, Erik, Jen, Jimmy, Marli, Matheus, Miguel, Rick, Tracey, Quinn, and Quintin) teaching. We were able to protect the front of our school from damage during the closure, develop new ways of engaging with our community online, reformat our space for social distancing, and even keep Knight Camp, our award winning summer camp program, available for families who rely on it for community, growth, and childcare.
This crisis has been a catalyst for a positive evolution of HEMA into the online space. We have created and launched a series of live online beginner and advanced classes that we will continue offering after the pandemic is over. We believe that this strong pivot toward online instruction will help introduce our beloved martial art to people around the world who were previously unable to practice it. Moving to online teaching platforms has also made it possible for us to keep offering swordplay to people in high risk groups and in places that are required to bring back more stringent stay-at-home measures. We hope to have more to share about Duello Online in the coming months.
Though we have reopened the doors of our downtown Vancouver studio, we are not out of the woods yet. The strict COVID-19 safety restrictions have put a cap on the number of students we can accommodate and amount of in-person classes we can host. Several of our instructors and many members are not able to return to classes because of their high risk status and the continuing uncertain nature of the COVID crisis has reduced the number of people choosing to engage in group activities. Additionally many government programs that were helping us and businesses like ours are expiring this month. That means that our financial situation is still uncertain and any additional help you can offer will be greatly appreciated.
How you can help:
- Attend our in-person and online classes, spread the word about our beginner programs, birthday party events, corporate events and Adventures. All of which have been modified to accommodate social distancing and safety protocols.Click here to learn more about our Online Classes
Click here to learn more about our in-person Beginner Classes
- Book one of our new Axe-Throwing or Archery adventures, perfect activities for social distancing. Bring a group of friends to learn these arts, shoot or throw competitively in a mini-tournament, and have a great time while keeping safely apart yet doing something together. Both are available at our downtown studio every day!Go on an adventure by clicking on this link
Thank you so much for your support!
The Academie Duello Team