Editorial – How Do We Re-Start Athletics?
Covid-19 has Wreaked Havoc with Athletics - How Do We Kick-Start It?
Editorial by John Quigley, Cork Athletics Webmaster
This Editorial does not necessarily reflect the views of Cork Athletics County Board
Start of Conna 5k 2016
| Club Considerations | Race Considerations | Governmebt Doc - Roadmap to Recovery |
Intro
Last week, the Government released details of the Road Map for Reopening Business and Society. Included was an outline of how Sport would be reopened, with restrictions being gradually relaxed as each Stage is reached. Of course, the timeline isn’t ‘set in stone’ – if the virus flares up again, the dates for commencing any particular stage may be delayed. Equally, but less likely, is that some dates may move forward.
While, from an athletics point of view, the prospect of easing restrictions, however gradual, is very welcome, there is little detail (yet) in how we will actually start opening up club training, and, especially races and events. The thought is great…..BUT….How do we do it?
First and foremost, Cork Athletics will adhere to HSE Guidelines. No doubt more details of what may and may not be done will come from Sport Ireland and Athletics Ireland……hopefully soon, because clubs and event organisers need to consider the implications arising from such guidance and start planning for the intermediate term.
In the meantime, we, as club and race administrators, need to take a *VERY* critical look at what we have been doing, and how we can resume those activities, if, indeed, we can at all. In particular, we need to see how we can do things safely.
"The return of team sports will not be recommended by the National Public Health Emergency Team before a vaccine for the coronavirus or anti-viral medicine is discovered - Irish Times
“I don’t see it being something we could recommend from a public health perspective without social distancing,” Dr. Cillian De Gascun told The Irish Times, “and assuming we are not going to have an anti-viral therapy or a vaccine for 12 to 18 months, it is difficult to recommend.
“I think team sports are going to be in a very difficult position.”
"The caveats preventing this are multitude"
Social Distance
A Key element of HSE campaign of the past three months has been the practice of Social Distancing. If we don’t continue to practice this, we may cause a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ situation.
"Our public health advice around the sport arena is that physical distancing is still a massive part of everything we are going to do. The easy wins are the likes of golf where you are outdoors, so there is a lower risk." - Dr. De Gascun
Social distancing is probably easier in Field Events, but what are the practicalities. Races are a ‘totally different ball game, with lots of potential ‘cans of worms’.
’Each individual Club, Coach and Race Organiser, needs to look, right NOW, at how their activity can be safely done. A ‘root and branch’ approach will be essential. Protocols and guideline will need to be drafted and circulated among their members/participants, so everyone knows what is happening, and how they, themselves, should behave.
Top
What Sort of Things Do Clubs Need to Consider?
Indoor Training
Participation Numbers
How many members, including coaches and admin people can be allowed to attend safely at any particular session?
Should you consider having:
- Different nights/different sessions
- Do you need to split things up, so that different groups meet on different nights and/or locations.? Bear in mind that Child Protection regulations and protocols also need to be maintained, so, in having separate sessions, ensure that your cover is sufficient.
- Venue/Location/Facilities
Indoors or Outdoors?
If your sessions are indoors, your club will face more restrictions, and you will need to consider access. Given that we are entering the ‘summer’ months, with warmer weather and longer evenings, you should aim to minimize indoor activity. Outdoors, you have much more scope.
Maximum numbers
Maximum numbers will need to be set for each group and/or session. This will obviously vary according to age and activity, venue, and coaching cover
Social Distance?
Social distance must be maintained at all times. You will need to co-ordinate activities between each separate group, assuming that sessions are split between, say ages and/or sub-groups. Particular attention will be needed where facilities are shared with other clubs/sports.
Toilet & Washing Facilities
Hand washing is critical, so clubs must ensure that washing and toilet facilities are available, clean and sufficient for the numbers attending. A club representative should be responsible for ensuring that everything is in place before your session, and again afterward – leave the facility as you found it. If the initial inspection finds that the facilities are not adequate, you should consider if the session should go ahead.
Sanitiser?
Hand sanitiser is a must. Your session should have adequate supplies of sanitiser.
Breaches/Handling of Incidents
You will need to draft rules/guidelines for Breaches of protocols and etiquette, where the health and well-being of others is put at risk. We all make mistakes, and errors of judgement, however you will need to consider what to do in such cases.
Top
What Do Race Organisers Need to Consider?
When Can Races Start Again?
That's the $50M question! The guidelines are pretty vague, with no mention of athletics, and little to extrapolate from. Dr. De Gascun's interview comments give a bit more insight into what the thinking is, from the NPHET viewpoint, though it must be remembered that NPHET is concerned with Public Health, as Dr. De Gascun states in the Irish Times interview:
Re: FAI/GAA & IRFU: " They wouldn’t engage directly with NPHET. The department of transport, tourism and sport would be where those engagements take place."
"We now know the when, so how can sport return in Ireland?
I really don’t know is the short answer. What we would hope to do over the coming months, after having some challenges on the testing side, is to get a greater picture of where the virus is in the community.
There are two elements to sport returning: the athletes themselves and the crowds; the mass gatherings are really difficult to see that coming on stream any time soon.
After May 18th, if we have construction and landscapers back, you let outdoor individual sports back. You could probably make an argument for cricket, if you thought about it with physical distancing. But team sports in the early stages, no, purely because of the dressing rooms and interaction on the pitch."
Participation Numbers
Currently, it isn’t clear what the maximum number of participants will be once races are allowed again. Hopefully some guidance will come soon from Sport Ireland and/or Athletics Ireland. However, it does seem that large events, with in excess of 5,000 participants, may not happen in the foreseeable future.
Smaller races may get the ‘Go Ahead’ sooner, but it is essential that organizers are given some guidance on numbers participating.
" Everything is a risk balance. If the 300 people are staying more than two metres away from each other it is reasonably safe.
So, I think team sports are going to be in a very difficult position. Even with testing you can do it daily but all that tells you is you are negative at that point in time and then there is a 24 hour window to interacting with other people.
Professional clubs can certainly mitigate risk. Physios can wear Personal Protective Equipment. Without the physical distancing ... I still don’t see it as something that we would recommend. It may not be prohibited or banned but I don’t think it could be recommended on public health grounds purely because you are never going to get to zero risk.
We could get to a situation where you have a small town or village or county that does not have a lot of the virus circulating. Maybe inside the county boundaries they could operate fairly normally.
The club GAA championship could happen?
Potentially. Maybe, like golf, they don’t share the dressing room. They come and warm-up, play the game and then shower at home.
In small club championships you could probably have a few hundred people at the game, socially distancing. But you probably cannot bring a team or bus load of supporters from Dublin down to that county.
A county championship could take place in certain circumstances if you are creative. I do not have all the answers to this situation but it is like all the businesses trying to get back to work."
" The priority has been public health.
When might we get around 2,000 people social distancing at the RDS or Dalymount Park?
It comes back to what we learn from testing [in June]. We have the limitations on mass gatherings. But the phase process goes from being at home on your own to being in small groups to going to restaurants under 50 people.
Every time we take a step we will be waiting to see what the impact of that will be. If we take a step and mass gatherings go to 50, we wait three weeks and if there hasn’t been a significant uptake in disease activity in the community.
If we go to 500 people gatherings and things kick off again we step back.
Unfortunately, there is no instruction booklet for this virus. We will err on the side of caution because what we have seen in Italy, Spain.... how quickly this thing can get out of hand." Dr De Gascun
How Do Participants Enter the Event?
You will need to consider the mode of entry. Clearly the ‘tried and tested’ walk up and enter method will cause difficulties with social distancing, and also form filling, including handling forms and using shared writing implements.
On-Line Entries
On-Line only entry will alleviate many of the ‘entry on the day’ problems.
Race (Bib) Numbers
On-line entry will facilitate posting of race numbers in advance of the race. If numbers are to be picked up on the day, whether with online entry, or entry on the day, a functional pick-up system will need to be devised, e.g. a one way system, with separate entry and exit doors.
Pins
Handling of pins is probably not a good idea. Consider asking participants to supply their own pins. This is a regular thing with races elsewhere in Europe
Timing
Maintaining social distance while hand timing is simply not possible – long queues form, finishers in distress will exacerbate this. Chip timing will minimize very many of the finishing area problems.
Water
Water is going to be a MAJOR headache. For shorter races, water is probably not necessary, while it is essential for longer races.
The problem is that water cup, or bottles, need to be handled and passed to participants, who then drink from them. Someone needs to pick these up and then dispose of them. There is greater risk at this point. For short races, consider not providing water. For longer races, you need to develop a protocol for picking up and disposal of cups/bottles.
Food
In the current situation, you’ll want, essentially, people just turn up, run and go home. Provision of food is NOT a good idea, as it incentivizes people to stay around, risking breach of social distancing guidelines.
" You don’t want them in the bar or sitting down for a bit of grub beforehand. You pull into the car park, put on your spikes and off to the first tee. You keep your distance of two metres." Dr. De Gascun
Breaches
Spitting, nose blowing etc, used to be common among runners. Hopefully everyone will, by now, have realized the gravity of the Covid-19 threat, and so will have stopped these practices. If not, you need to consider what you’re going to do if someon
 |  |
e breaches the new social regime.
Changing Facilities
Due to social distancing guidelines, it is probably a good idea NOT to provide changing facilities during the Covid-19 crisis.
First Aid/Ambulance
You will need to liaise with your ambulance/first-aid provider to see what their protocols are, and adjust your accordingly. It may be that these services are just too busy elsewhere to be in a position to cover athletics events, so you'd be scuttled without the essential medical cover.
Presentation of Prizes
Presentations - The optimum is probably to present the First X (whatever number of main prizes) across the line immediately after they finish, with NO category prizes awarded on the day. In other words, NO Hall or Group presentations. If category prizes are to be awarded, either post them to the winners, or choose to present them at a later date.
Race Start & Finish
Everyone 2m apart?
Social distancing at race starts and finishes are going to be a serious problem, particularly in shorter races. Even with, say, just 50 people in a race, the idea of social distance being maintainable at the start line is simply inconceivable, even with the best will in the world. Finish lines are something similar - see under Timing heading
Collection and Disposal of Waste
One would hope that everyone would bring their own waste home. Sadly, as we always see, there's always someone who won't. Before now, organisers would collect waste themselves, while wearing protective gloves.
Waste disposal will be a major headache, particularly if any material, e.g. food, cups, plates, bottles etc are provided. It will not be possible/to segregate material from the bins ...all will have to go into into a waste bin, without recycling.
With Covid-19, waste collection and disposal has been elevated to a totally different level, and warrants a separate and full procedure.
Roadmap to Reopening
Roadmap for ReOpening Society and Business - PDF File
Overview of Reopening Phases - PDF File
Summary of Sports Status During The Various Phases
18 May (phase 1)
8 June (phase 2)
29 June (phase 3)
20 July (phase 4)
10 August (phase 5)
Phase 1 - 18th May
People can travel up to 5 kilometres from their home to exercise
Outdoor spaces
Outdoor spaces and tourism sites (for example: car parks, beaches, mountain walks) will be opened where people can move around freely and where social distancing can be maintained.
Public sports grounds
Public sport amenities (for example: pitches, tennis courts, golf courses) can be opened where social distancing can be maintained.
Group exercise
People can exercise - either on their own or in a group of no more than 4 people - where social distancing can be maintained and where there is no contact with other people.
Phase 2 - 8th June
Group exercise
People can take part in outdoor sporting and fitness activities, involving team sports training in small groups (but not matches) where social distancing can be maintained and where there is no contact.
Phase 3 - 29th June
Sport and tourism
Playgrounds
Playgrounds will be allowed to re-open where social distancing and hygiene can be maintained.
Sporting activities
Sporting activities and events can resume “behind closed doors”, where arrangements are in place to enable participants to maintain social distancing.
Phase 4 - 20th July
Sport
Competitions for sports teams (for example, soccer and GAA) can resume, but only where limitations are placed on the numbers of spectators and where social distancing can be maintained.
Public swimming pools can be opened where effective cleaning can be carried out and social distancing can be maintained.
As part of phase 4 of the roadmap, it is planned that you will be able to travel outside your region and beyond the 20 kilometre restriction in phase 3.
Phase 5 - 10th August
Social
• Indoor recreational venues, such as bowling alleys and bingo halls, can re-open where numbers can be limited, cleaning can be maintained, and social distancing can be complied with.
• Pubs, nightclubs and casinos can re-open, where social distancing and strict cleaning can be complied with.
• Festivals, events and other social and cultural mass gatherings can take place only in accordance with both indoor and outdoor number restrictions and where social distancing can be complied with.
Sport
• Close physical contact sports, such as rugby and boxing, can resume.
• Gyms, dance studios and sports clubs can re-open, only where regular and effective cleaning can be carried out and social distancing can be maintained.
• Spectators can begin to attend live sporting events only in accordance with both indoor and outdoor number restrictions and where social distancing can be complied with.
Top
