COVID Policies

Updated 3/7/2024

COVID Policies and Procedures

The Covid policies for the 2023 Montreal event are expected to be:

  • When entering the event each day, everyone will take a NARIX-supplied Covid antigen test.

We do not expect to require masking at the event. It is possible, however, that we will require masking if circumstances change. 

Do not register for the event unless you are willing to mask and comply with all other covid policies. Under no circumstances will we issue refunds to people who didn’t read the covid policies or are unwilling to follow them.

Additional recommendations

While we are not requiring additional precautions in the time leading up to the event (like masking, or avoiding crowded indoor spaces), we do request that you be thoughtful about your COVID exposure in the days leading up to the event.

If you are traveling to the event, we recommend but do not require that you take a home Covid test two days prior to traveling and right before traveling, to reduce your risk of traveling to Montreal but being unable to attend because you have Covid.

If you want to minimize your risk at the event, we recommend getting your Covid booster approximately 3 weeks before the event, so you have peak immunity while you’re at NARIX.

Masks are always welcome at NARIX and we encourage people who want to mask at the event to do so.

Why these policies?

In setting our Covid policies, we try to balance the following considerations:

  • Covid risk is an accessibility issue for people who are at high risk of complications from Covid. There are people for whom NARIX is the only rope convention they feel safe attending.

  • Masks create accessibility challenges for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.

  • Masks are uncomfortable and make the event feel less intimate.

We set policies for each event based on current Covid risk, in consultation with an epidemiologist who specializes in Covid.


Guiding Principles

We are guided by the following principles, in priority order:

We believe in science

We follow the current scientific consensus. When the data we need are missing or ambiguous, we make reasonable extrapolations based on the available data.

We are a community

As a community, we take care of one another and sacrifice for the common good. We make decisions about risk based on what is best for our community and our world as well as our personal risk tolerance.

Inclusion is one of our core values, so we work hard and sacrifice to make our events safe and accessible to our most vulnerable members.

We are transparent

Informed consent is one of our core values, so we are open and honest with each other about our risk profiles and our exposure levels.

As an organization, we publish detailed Covid policies and procedures as well as risk estimates for each of our events, so that attendees can make informed decisions about whether or not to attend.

We are autonomous

Within the bounds of being responsible members of our community, we are autonomous individuals who have the right to choose our own risk profiles and make our own decisions about risk.