A chink of light on competition fixtures (12th June)
A chink of light on competition fixtures
In an update from Athletics Ireland on Friday 12th June, among the FAQs about Phase 2 of the Government’s roadmap for reopening society and business was one very close to everyone’s heart; will there be any T&F competition this year? In response, Athletics Ireland confirms that the Juvenile and Competition Committees are meeting regularly to plan a return to competition within Government guidelines. Provisional dates in August and September are planned for Seniors and u/23, Masters, Juniors, and Juveniles from u/14 to u/19 and the dates will be published when confirmed. An important caveat though, is that all dates will be contingent on meeting Government guidelines. There is disappointment though for our younger members, with the confirmation that there will be no T&F competition for u/9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 years of age. In addition, there will be no relays or All-Ireland “B” T&F.
For now, training at the Club is confined to members who are or will be 13 years of age this year (u/14), live within 20k of the Club or in Westmeath, whichever is further. Training must be pre-booked in groups of 15 (a coach plus 14 athletes), there can be several groups training at the Club at the same time, but social distancing must be adhered to within and between groups. Pre-booking includes a mandatory health screening questionnaire. If an athlete doesn’t pre-book a session, they will not be allowed to train and everyone attending sessions must record their attendance electronically. Apart from social distancing, hygiene and sneeze and cough etiquette is closely watched. Changing rooms and toilets are not available in the current Phase and the Clubhouse is only open so coaches can have access to training equipment.
So far, we’ve had a full week of the increased numbers of 15 in a group and several groups training at the same time, on the grass track, on the gravel track, and on the sprint lanes, and so far everything is working well. Sessions are observed by our Covid-19 Compliance Officer, but of course everyone is expected to take responsibility for their own behaviour.
Remember to update your contact details
A robust contact tracing system is one of the key elements of the Athletics Ireland protocols. The link to pre-register is e-mailed to members, so it’s vital that we have the correct e-mail address. The response to the request to update contact details is still patchy and only about half of those eligible to return to training have submitted their up to date details, so we’ll repeat it. All Club members, or their parents or guardians, need to send an e-mail to info@mullingarharriers.com, using “contact” as the subject, with phone number, e-mail address and home address (with Eircode, if known). This request applies to everyone in the Club. Quite a few e-mail addresses submitted to date are different to what the Club had on record, so how can we e-mail you the link to pre-register for training if we don’t have your correct e-mail address?
