05/06/2020
From John Small, Squash Nsw President
I have just finished attending the Sports Minister’s and Chief Health Officer’s (CHO) weekly update. There was a lot of information provided but I will keep this brief and to essentials for now, then provide more detailed information in the next few days. There will be a set of guidelines published on the Sport NSW website later this afternoon too.
Importantly, the good news is Squash centres can reopen from 13th June.
However, there are significant restrictions which you will need to abide by:
Opening applies to adult and junior community sport for now – no competitions are allowed and there is no timescale as yet for adult competition.
The groups of 10 rule applies – consequently you will have to operate only with pre-bookings, no one off the street. Then you will have to stagger bookings such that one group of up to 10 leaves before the next group enters. Necessary staff are additional to the 10.
Social distancing remains in force – the 4sqm and 1.5m apart rules apply. Consequently, we can only sanction people on court if these rules are maintained. The strong implication is that play cannot include games but only drills and routines not involving contact or constant very close positioning. Contact is allowed to give assistance to stressed or injured players. All of this is expressed as guidelines with the strong implication that they should be followed. However, from a Squash NSW perspective, I will leave each of you to interpret within these guidelines. I would say though that if you find you have people on court constantly breaching distancing, you should ask them to leave.
You must keep records of who has attended to allow for quick follow-up should anyone be found later to be infected. If you are part of a larger complex or facility, you must have an agreement in place with the facility operator on who is keeping these records.
The overall health aims that they ae looking to achieve are that returns to normality are gradual and there is no intermingling of large groups of people or between the groups of 10. The CHO is also aware that spikes that might occur with these relaxations may not be immediate and can occur later. Consequently she is intending to monitor the situation for at least two months before looking to further relaxations. The CHO is well aware of the health and social benefits of getting people playing sport. Overall, they are pleased with the responsible behaviours they’ve observed across sports to date.
Junior Sport Under 18 yrs Return to Competition from 1st July:
The above restrictions do not apply for Junior Sport which can return to both training from the 13th and full competition from 1st July. They can play organised matches and contact is allowed. Social distancing remains for parents, coaches, officials, staff etc, to the extent practicable given the nature of the sport and groups larger than 10 are allowed. Sensible measures preventing too many people crowded on or around courts apply.
They are the main points to be aware of for now. I’ll update you with more comprehensive information over the weekend. We are currently producing poster designs to display in centres. I realise that these restrictions will affect business volumes but at least you can open now.
And I’m happy to answer questions.
Regards,
John Small I President and A/CEO I SQUASH NSW
E: [email protected]
