Covid Club Update

Thank you for your understanding and support in help in making sure we are and remain compliant  with all the relevant guidance/regulations that have allowed us to get back on the pitch playing and training.  (And with apologies from me for the badgering). Just over a month in since we restarted, I thought it would be good to give you an update on progress and to call a few things out to you. Let me start by giving you the perspective on playing in the current climate. (If things change, we will let you know ASAP) League games commence 26/9 for some teams, 3/10 for the remainder. England Hockey and Government guidelines advise even if you are in an area of ‘Intervention’ that participation in organised governing body controlled sport is allowed. This is because the risk of transmission is negligible due to actions the sports and their clubs have taken to create the right, safe environments. For both home and away games if you follow the guidelines for safe travel, safe distancing and comply with the England Hockey, our and the oppositions guidelines there is a no risk of infection by playing. It is of course peoples own personal choice if they want to play/travel – just let your Captain/Manager know if you are not prepared to play/travel. We will not hold this against you (there is no pressure to play; it does not affect selection etc) but we need to know so we can report any widescale issues to the League(s). A small number of players have been impacted by local school ‘Isolations’. Short term we have taken a belt and braces approach and not let these players play or train whilst I have been establishing what this means for the hockey club. The current guidance from England Hockey and the Government are that unless you have been advised by NHS track and Trace to isolate or have been in direct contact for 15 minutes or more with someone who is confirmed positive for Covid, even if your school age group/bubble is in isolation, you can continue to play Hockey.   As far as I am aware (you must let me know) we have only had 1 person in the club test positive since we have been back playing. I won’t name that person but what I will say is that from a hockey perspective (and I’m sure a wider community perspective) they followed all the protocols, did all the right things and as such have presented no risk to anyone else. I and the club would like to say thank you for showing full respect to us and your fellow members.   A few things to update you on and seek your help with please. Social Distancing This is my biggest concern, the thing that is most likely to get us into trouble and which could lead to us not being allowed to play/train if we do not improve upon it.    Warm-ups without the ball (running round pitch, stretch exercises etc) must be in obvious groups of no more than 6 people and should still be undertaken 2m apart. Its ok for a team to all be doing stretches etc at same time it’s just they must be in obvious separate groups and not a single cluster of players. On the pitch when the ball is not in play you must be 2m apart (two stick lengths). This applies to any team discussions pre, during and post games/training, sitting waiting as substitutes, and there should be no huddles/stick rattles before a game starts (A prize for the best socially distanced alternative).  Off the pitch all players arriving for the next game/training session must maintain 2m distance and please do not congregate at the pitch entrance, spread right down the spectator area so others can get in safely.    Spectators (unless in same household) should be 2m apart as well. Please can I ask all spectators to move well down the spectator area (preferably beyond the mid pitch gate) and not to congregate/position yourselves near the pitch entrance as this causes a bottleneck for players arriving/going onto the pitch.   Playsafe The track and trace log-in system is working well, and we have now extended this (with the support of the Captains/Managers) to away games as well. QR code posters will be available at Kings from next weekend and your Captains/Managers will have the ‘away’ match log-in codes. Once you have scanned a QR code please move away before completing the rest of the log-in details to allow other people to access the code and prevent queues (without social distancing) from occurring. Maybe consider arriving a bit earlier to do your log-in to a) avoid any queues and b) ensure you can start your game/training on time. Please remember every time you to play/train/spectate you must log-in and if that happens to be more than 1 location in the same day then for all locations. Pitch Access Players seem to have got used to the one-way system at The Edge now and we are generally getting better at spreading our kit out across the pitch (2m apart) and not using the dugouts. For games at The Edge please do not enter the pitch until the players in the previous game are well on their way off the pitch. For Kings (with no one-way system) please remember you cannot enter the pitch until ALL players and officials, coaches etc from the previous game have exited. With the additional constraints on pitch access (all locations) and the tight timing for pitch slots its important all players and officials are ready to play (Shin pads etc on, Gumshields ready) before entering the pitch. Once your game finishes and you have acknowledged your opposition and the umpires please quickly gather your belongings and exit immediately - any team discussions/debriefs (socially distanced), warm downs etc. should be held away from the pitch.  Covid Support Fee Many thanks to those who have successfully made this payment. I am aware several of you have had issues, this problem was due to the payment not linking correctly to our bank accounts but has now been resolved. If you try and make the payment now it will direct to set up your mandate again (takes about 20 seconds to do) which will reset the linkage and will allow you to make all your payments inc match fees direct to the club.     Many people have expressed to me how much they appreciate and are enjoying getting back on the pitch playing and training properly. Let’s make sure that we do everything we can to continue to do so.    Paul Buckingham AEHC Covid Officer