The health and safety of our club members, coaches and support volunteers is our number one priority.
The Coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak is a very fluid and rapidly changing situation. We will continue to follow advice from England Netball (EN), who themselves are responding to guidance from Public Health England, the World Health Organisation and both local and national government on this matter.
In order to ensure we are following the advice and guidance from EN, we have created a designated role of COVID 19 officer. This role will be responsible for communicating the guidance from EN to all of those involved in the club, in order that all netball activity undertaken by Eagles has the health and safety at the heart of any planning.
As previously mentioned, this pandemic is a rapidly changing situation, and as such the advice and guidance is subject to frequent change. This policy is dated within the footer, and any subsequent changes in guidance will be documented and promptly communicated in an updated version.
We request all our members, guardians of our junior members, coaches and our support volunteers read and follow the following Club principals, pending any future developments or changes being communicated:
Risk assessment prior to all activity.
This will include those in charge of the session and participants being asked to consider if their underlying health, may caution against participation. If you have any concerns, please discuss with your coach prior to attending.
All players, officials, volunteers and spectators must undergo a self-assessment for any COVID-19 symptoms.
No-one should leave home to participate in sport if they, or someone they live with, has symptoms of COVID -19 currently recognised as any of the following:
a. A high temperature
b. A new, continuous cough
c. A loss of, or change to, their sense of smell or taste
Should an individual demonstrated any such symptoms, they must follow NHS and PHE guidance on self-isolation
Travel to training
Participants are encouraged to follow best practice for travel including minimising use of public transport and limiting car sharing. People from a household or support bubble can travel together in a vehicle. See the government’s safer travel guidance for passengers for further information.
Arrival at venues
Members should strictly limit the time spent congregating at a venue before activity begins and going straight to the designated training area as directed by the coaches. We politely ask those transporting members to promptly drop off and pick up, and not to congregate or socialise on site. This is not only to protect you, but also to satisfy our obligations and agreement with the venue. Please, no pets are to be brought to the venues and this too could jeopardise our contract with the venue.
Use of equipment
The sharing of equipment must be avoided where possible. Where equipment is shared, equipment must be cleaned before use. Where kit absolutely must be shared or kept together, each person handling it must wash or sanitise their hands immediately after. Everyone in attendance is expected to take personal responsibility for sanitising hands and equipment, and whilst the club will ensure there are products available, it would be helpful if all participants have their own readily accessible in the kit bags.
Injury treatment
Injuries during training will still be treated as participant wellbeing is a priority. The best way to protect is through rigorous cleaning, personal hygiene and regular hand hygiene. An increased frequency of cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces and equipment, using standard household cleaning and disinfection products, is recommended. Face coverings are also advisable when undertaking treatment. After contact with an injured participant, clean hands thoroughly with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitiser at the earliest opportunity. This advice is applicable to all situations, regardless of whether there was close contact, or the minimum social distancing was maintained. Avoid touching your mouth, eyes and nose.
Toilets
Participants will have access to the venue’s outdoor toilets when available. There must be an awareness of good handwashing techniques, the need to increase handwashing frequency and to avoid touching the face, and to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into an arm if a tissue is not available. To enable good hand hygiene there will be made available, hand sanitiser, running water and anti-bacterial wipes, but we do ask that participants have their own sanitising products accessible in their kit bags.
Netball Training
• Netball fitness activity will continue to be delivered with 2m social distancing measures in place.
• Players should always remain in their designated area and avoid making physical contact with other players. In the event that a player’s ball goes outside of their area another player can kick the ball back (not throw) or alternatively players will move out of the way to maintain social distancing so that the player can retrieve their ball.
• Players and coaches should avoid touching court gates, fences, benches and netball posts where possible.
• Equipment sharing will be kept to a minimum during sessions.
• There will be no small sided games or netball games during sessions. Focus will be on fitness, strength and conditioning, landing and ball skills.
• If different squads are using multiple courts, a one-way entry and exit system will be used if there are separate gates available or, if not, staggered start and finish times will be arranged to ensure that social distancing can be met.
• A Level 2 qualified coach can oversee multiple socially distanced groups with an assistant coach/es. These coaches should be included within group sizes for social distancing.
• Netball courts that are adjacent to one another can be utilised providing 2m remains between groups on neighbouring courts and that a one–way entry and exit system is established. If there is only one entry point, start and end times must be staggered.
The most up to date guidance and FAQs can be found on the website here.
Stay safe.
Christina Berenger
Eagles Netball Club
COVID 19 Officer
23rd July 2020
