Covid-19 Safety Protocol

Updated: June 30, 2020

In accordance with the Governor’s easing of the COVID Protocols statewide on June 30, mask are no longer required and we are resuming training without social distancing practices. 

We will continue to respect individual’s comfort level when it comes to wearing a mask and / or training with others.

The locker rooms, showers, bathrooms, and lobby are all open and functional.

Now is the time for folks to get back to training and resuming their Jiu Jitsu journey. Let’s GO! ! !

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Updated June 7, 2021:

June 2021 COVID Update

In response the the CDC’s announcement regarding fully vaccinated people, Oregon approaching the 70% vaccination mark and the Governor’s updated mask policy, and the encouraging decrease in infection rate as tracked by the Oregon Health Authority, beginning Monday, June 14, the following changes will go into affect:

1. An updated class schedule with class gaining an additional 10 minutes of training time because we no longer need to disinfect between every class. Go HERE to preview. 

2. There will no longer be Squads, meaning both adult and youth students can train (with their pod members) whenever they want during the week versus the time assigned to them by the Squad structure.

3. For folks who want to maintain their pod (and only train with them), we support and respect your stance.

4. For those folks who are comfortable training with a variety of partners (whoever is in the room), we support and respect your stance.

5. Fully vaccinated students (who have proof on file) will not be required to wear a mask.

6. Unvaccinated, in-process of becoming fully vaccinated, and those in high risk categories will be strongly encouraged to wear a mask.

7. The bathroom facilities will be open and useable.

8. The bottle refilling stations on the water fountains will be operable.


Not Quite There Yet (… but hopefully soon):

A. We will still be checking people in via the back door, taking their temperature, and recording if they are in a pod or not, and their location on the mat.

B. The lobby will remain closed / no spectators allowed in the building.

C. The individual water spouts will remain off on the water fountains.

D. The locker rooms and the showers will remain closed.

We, as we have for the last fifteen months, will continue to monitor the situation and we will adjust as updated information comes in. Your health and safety is our top concern.

In short, we are EXTREMELY excited to see trends going the way they are … and that we are beginning to take noticeable steps back to normalcy. 

See ya’ all on the mat! ! !

The Five Rings' Admin. Team

Five Rings is running both in-person and digital dojo classes concurrently. 

• New students are required to contact Coach Dan VanDetta at (971) 344-3852 before signing up for introductory classes.

When we re-open, we will be following the safety protocols below:

Here are the current list of precautions we have implemented :

• Masks. We will continue to require everyone to wear masks while training at Five Rings. Masks are seen as one of the most effective tools in fighting the spread of COVID. 
• Air purification and external doors open. We have three medical grade air purifiers designed to clean the air and keep airflow / fresh air turn-over high on the training floor and thereby significantly reduce the chance of COVID spreading. It’s almost as good as being outside
• Reduced Capacity. We are operating at a heavily reduced capacity and increased our class schedule to accommodate this.
• Squads, Pods, and ring assignments. we are committed to controlled and organized training.

1. Squads – currently the adults are divided into six squats while the youth are divided into two squads.

   Squads help segment our population and minimize the potential exposure. People may only train at their Squad’s designated time. Currently the squad cap is twenty-two class participants and two staff members for a total of twenty four folks. Squads will be added as necessary.

2. Pods – groups of two to eight people who having had conversations of comfort level and degree of risk that they are comfortable with. Pods train together exclusively. A person from one pod currently cannot train with a person from another pod. A squad is made up of smaller pods. Members of pods may also train together using the quarantine buddy / pod drill time program during non-class times.
3. Ring assignment / space management – we have larger rings (for pods of 4 to 8) and smaller rings (for pods of 2 to 4) that are designed specifically to ensure that the proper distancing is maintained between pods while training.

• RSVP Only. Students are on a set schedule, by appointment only and grouped into cohorts by their schedule. Screening. Students are checked with a non-contact infrared thermometer before entering the building and asked about any symptoms.
• We sanitize the mats between each cohort and have students use a foot washing station before stepping on the mats.
• We limit spectators to parents checking out the first week of kids classes. Some parents do watch the classes from outside.
• Zoom classes are available for students who wish to participate from home.
• Safety protocols in place to go the extra mile:

1. If someone is feeling sick or rundown, we ask that they stay home and not come to the academy to train. Please error on the side of caution. We, as a community, need to stay vigilant.
2. Health questions, temperature, hand washing and ring assignments upon entry to the academy
3. Locker rooms are closed. All adult and youth members are expect to arrive at the academy in their training gear. No changing into training gear on premises.
4. The lobby is closed. No one is allowed to watch classes inside the academy. Parents and friends may observe classes from outside the academy through the big bay windows on the south wall of the academy.
5. Bathrooms are closed except in cases of emergency. We ask that all members, adults and youth, be mindful of using the bathroom before coming to the academy to train. 

• Students who have traveled out of state, competed or trained at other academies are asked to stay out of the academy for 10 days.
• Students are expected to make responsible decisions outside of Five Rings in order to avoid future closures, and to prevent spreading an infection across a large group of people.
• If a student tests positive for Covid-19, they must notify the Five Rings’ Coaching Staff immediately. We will use our class lists to help notify anyone who might have been in direct contact.

We will continue to assess the safety situation on a regularly basis (bi-weekly) and make appropriate adjustments according to the data we are receiving from the Governor’s office, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

We strongly encourage all members to get vaccinated at the earliest time possible. Please let the academy know when you are fully vaccinated (two weeks after your last shot). Members looking to reconnect / plug-in to training at Five Rings, please reach out to Coach Sarah at fiveringsjiujitsu@gmail.com to find out what options are available. 

We absolutely want to get “back to normal” as soon as possible, but we know that we need to stay vigilant in the fight against the spread of COVID until we’ve truly turned the corner and have the pandemic under control.