Guidance update – 23 September

23rd September 2020

England Athletics can confirm that guidance for OUTDOOR club and group activity as well as all types of OUTDOOR competitions for athletics and running is not affected by the recently announced restrictions on the number of people allowed to meet. The Government has now confirmed to Sport England that organised sports and activities which have been through return to play protocols will be allowed to continue as before.

The announcement means that outdoors gatherings of no more than six people remain in place except for Covid-secure venues and activities where larger groups can participate and compete.

There are updates to guidance relating to INDOOR activity. INDOOR training can take place for athletes UNDER the age of 18 in larger groups (more than 6) in Covid-secure venues, adhering to coaching ratios and/or Department for Education guidance. INDOOR training for athletes OVER the age of 18 should be restricted to groups of 6 (1 coach to 5 athletes). 

England Athletics is working with indoor facilities on indoor competition guidance and will release this in due course.

• Click here to access the latest England Athletics return to activity guidance documents (updated 23 September 2020)
• Click here to access the latest England Athletics return to competition guidance documents
• Click here to access Sport England Coronavirus updates

We also encourage everyone to follow the latest advice from the Government, be mindful of any local restrictions which may apply, wear face coverings where necessary and ensure social distancing and good hand hygiene at all times.

Dear members,

Following England Athletics Guidance update on 31 July 2020. We will be restarting club nights, with immediate effect.  The sessions will commence at 6.00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 
In order to help the sessions run smoothly it has been decided that we will now meet around the area of the War Memorial at Consett Sports Centre, this will help keep the Sports Centre entrance clear for their members.  Those wishing to participate in Stewy Bell’s coached track sessions on Tuesdays at 6.00pm are asked to go straight to the track.

See link for further information from England Athletics – https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/guidance-update-for-restricted-return-to-activity-for-coaches-leaders-athletes-runners-and-facilities-step-3/

As mentioned in the documentation, we have appointed a Covid co-ordinator, George McKay will fulfil this role.  
We have prepared a risk assessment which is available at the bottom of this page. We ask that you read it carefully and familiarise yourself with its contents.  

NOTE – THERE WILL BE NO TOILET OR CHANGING FACILITIES AVAILABLE.  

We would also be grateful if you could take note of the following :- 

Before Leaving Home:
• Follow all hygiene guidance including washing your hands.
• If you, or anyone in your household have any Covid19 symptoms, you should not attend training.  

On arrival:
• Please use the car park 
• Make your way to the War Memorial but please respect the War Memorial and its surroundings (or track), maintaining social distance.

MEMBERSHIP FEES
Membership fees were due in January 2020, there are still a few outstanding, obviously due to circumstances beyond our control we weren’t pushing payment of fees.  We will be doing some maintenance on our website and members only facebook page at the end of the week so any non-paid up members will be deleted from the members forum.  If you could kindly let us know if you do not intend to renew that would also be appreciated.

MONTHLY TIME TRIALS
Please see below information with regard to the time trials that George McKay has kindly organised.  If you wish to participate please contact George direct.

In light of the ongoing Covid-19 situation and the cancelation of running events, George McKay has put some Time Trial (TT) events together which will replace the Club Grand Prix.

These will be open to all club members, heats will set off with a handicap time for each runner, so it will be first runner across the finish line that will be the first finisher regardless of the handicap time you set off or the time it took you to complete the route.

Point System:

Points will be allocated to all finishers in your heat, with the maximum points going to the first finisher and decreasing to the last finisher, i.e. 5 Athletes in a Heat: 

1^st Place 5pts, 2^nd Place 4pts, 3^rd Place 3pts etc.

If there is only ‘one heat’ due to the amount of entries that will be classed as the event.  If there is more than one heat the winner from each heat will go onto form an additional heat i.e. semi-final/finals which will take place later in the month(s), points from addition heats will count in the scoring system.

The size of the Heats will depend on how many athletes are participating but most importantly they will comply with UKA/EA/Government guidelines regarding Covid-19, so they may change as the competition progresses.

Handicap Timings:

In order to make this as fair as possible and to ensure all those attending are in with a chance of winning, your Estimated Best Effort for that specific distance will be taken from Strava.

If you do not have an estimated Best Effort then your fastest time over that distance within the last 4 months will be used.

Trophies/Prizes:

Oh yes, there will be trophies, it is hoped these will be presented at the AGM.

There will be prizes for each TT event as well as an overall prize should you enter all three events.

Dates/entries:

Entries can be made either via our members Facebook page or email georgemckay055@aol.com this will allow George to work out the handicap timings and allocate you a heat.

1mile TT: 9am Saturday 15^th August 2020 (entries no later than 1200pm Friday 7^thAugust)

5K TT: 9am Saturday 12^th September 2020 (entries no later than 1200pm Friday 4^thSeptember)

10K TT: 9am Saturday 10^th October 2020 (entries no later than 1200pm Friday 2^ndOctober)

Regards 

Stewy Bell

Secretary

Latest advice 21/07/20,

The UK Government have announced that outdoor sport and physical activity participation events in England will be able to take place from 11th July. Whilst we look forward to the return of our sport, please note that all runbritain licenced races are cancelled until 31st July and this position will remain. The reason for this is that Covid-19 guidance to race organisers on staging off-track events that meet the Government guidelines issued on 10 July have been produced. Read the advice here. It will be a condition of licenced races that they indicate that they have read the Covid-19 guidelines; have understood these new requirements and agreed to implement them as appropriate to their event.  Please note that the Covid-19 guidelines will require: –

• Race organisers to draft additional plans such as a Covid-19 Risk Assessment
• A number of measures to be introduced which may require extra resource in terms of time, equipment, personnel and budget.
• Additional communication with participants to update them on arrangements made by an event to mitigate against the risk of catching Covid-19

It should also be borne in mind that additional liaison with stakeholders such as Local Authorities and landowners could be required to gain their approval of the event. If you have any queries then please contact glightwood@uka.org.uk

Track and field events

England Athletics has the following announcement with regard to track and field events.

https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/latest-guidance-restarting-outdoor-events-and-reopening-indoor-facilities

Update 7 July:  Click here for an update on training guidance following the government advice on 4th July 

George McKay has very kindly offered to provide a series of time trials and also some information on a challenge that ALL club members can participate in.

There is a poll on our Members Facebook page of some distances that you as members may prefer to time trial,

• 1 Mile
• 2 Mile
• 5K
• 10K

The plan is to stagger start times, i.e. if you run a mile in 9 mins and someone runs it in 7 mins they will start 2 mins after you. This will be done using the current Covid-19 guidelines provided by England Athletics which can be found on this website, the link above and our Members facebook page. There is also another poll to decide which day/time suits the majority, one idea is 9am Saturday which could get us into the routine of parkrun for when it starts back up.

The other challenge is Around the World in 80 Days which starts on the 9th July and is free to join. We currently have 23 members who have joined up via the following link, https://www.challengehound.com/join/6f82bde0-bc7b-11ea-b938-6df4006075ab

It’s only 32,000 miles! an additional 10,000 on top of Phileas Fogg, why? because we can… and a couple of extra stops at our home nations capitals! This challenge is also open to our Junior section, as long as they have approval from their parents/guardians.

Challenge Hound can be linked to your Strava account so there is no need to manually upload anything, it is fully inclusive with the types of activities you can use,

 Run, Virtual Run, Walk, Hike, Ride, Virtual Ride, Row, Kayak, Swim, Alpine Ski, Ice Skate, Nordic Ski, Wheelchair, Handcycle, Elliptical, Backcountry Ski, Inline Skate, or Roller Ski 32,000 Miles in 80 days!

You will automatically receive email updates after each activity you record. You can also come back to Challenge Hound at any time to view your progress and compare your results. If you already have activities recorded that qualify, you’ll need to allow up to ten minutes for Challenge Hound to sync up.

This is a Team Challenge and great way of motivation if you want to sign up and take part use the link above to join. Good luck!

June 2020

Following the new government advice on 28 May 2020 easing lockdown restrictions, groups of up to six people from different households will be able to meet outside in England from Monday 1 June (maintaining social distancing guidelines of 2m apart).

As a result, we have updated our guidance documents:

1. Guidance for athletes and runners return to activity
2. Guidance for coaches and leaders return to activity
3. Guidance for athletic venues return to activity

The summarised changes are below:

What it means for athletics and running

• Exercise outdoors only in groups of up to 6 people providing athletes/runners maintain social distancing advice i.e. 2m apart if from a different household
• A coach and up to 5 athletes or runners can train together provided they maintain social distancing i.e. 2m apart if from a different household
• Advice for young, masters and disabled runners and athletes is contained in the athlete guidance document.

Click here to download Guidance for Athletes and Runners – return to restricted activity (PDF 220kB)

Where

Public outdoor spaces including any outdoor athletics venues that are open plus gardens.

Number of people

Up to 6 people

Clubs

• A Covid-19 co-ordinator identified in each club to take responsibility for club plan and undertake the relevant risk assessments. Click here for the Risk Assessment documents.  These risk assessments and club plans must be in place before any activity can take place in order for insurance to be valid.
• In order for a club’s insurance to be valid, the club needs to be affiliated to England Athletics.
• Clubs should consider, as an alternative, virtual options for large group training/ coaching and committee meetings.
• Clubs should continue to liaise with venue operators for updates and guidance.
• Club activity can then begin as per each individual club’s plan based on government and England Athletics’ advice.

Coaches

• Online coaching can continue.
• Small group coaching outdoors of up to 6 people including the coach providing you maintain social distancing i.e. 2m apart if from a different household
• You must complete a risk assessment before sessions take place. Click here for Risk Assessment documents.
• Coaches must have an up to date valid coach licence and be coaching within their qualification boundaries – this will ensure that all coached sessions are covered by insurance.
• Familiarise yourself with national and local venue guidance
• Follow the coach code of conduct

Click here for Guidance for Athletics Venues – return to restricted activity (PDF 200kB)

Click here for Guidance for Coaches – return to restricted activity (PDF 270kB)

Venues

• Outdoor venues may open with social distancing measures put into place and Covid-19 secure guidelines followed.
• Operate online booking for the track where at all possible, or alternatively phone bookings. Take online or card payment.
• No changing rooms or social spaces open.
• No Jumps.

We are gathering more insight on jumps.  There remain some concerns around the ability to clean these facilities robustly to maintain hygiene standards. We are working with UKA and when we have a solution, we will update the guidance as quickly as possible.

Click here for Guidance for Athletics Venues – return to restricted activity (PDF 200kB)

Track and Field Competition

• No face-to-face competition permitted – England Athletics is running a series of virtual running competitions and challenges.
• The competition framework for potential return to track and field competition is available here. We will inform competition providers of the process to apply for a licence as soon as possible and in line with government guidance for any return to competition for any non-elite sport.

Road Running

• Small group training outdoors only in groups of up to 6 people providing runners maintain social distancing advice i.e. 2m apart if from a different household.
• A coach and up to 5 athletes or runners can train together provided they maintain social distancing i.e. 2m apart if from a different household.
• No face-to-face competition permitted – England Athletics is running a series of virtual running competitions and challenges.
• Advice for young, masters and disabled runners and athletes is contained in the athlete guidance document.

Click here for Guidance for Athletes and Runners – return to restricted activity (PDF 220kB)

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Over the coming days and weeks, we will be looking to move the suspension of jumps to jumps with restrictions, along with providing guidance for Road Running and Affiliated clubs.

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All parties should note the following disclaimer:

Please note that the subject matter covered in this guidance is in no way exhaustive and the material does not stand on its own nor is intended to be relied upon as a substitute for obtaining specific legal advice. Individual circumstances will differ. The information contained in this guidance is given in good faith but any liability of England Athletics Limited or its professional advisors (including their respective members or employees) to you or any third party which may arise out of the reliance by you or any other party of the contents of this guidance is hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law. England Athletics Limited and its professional advisors accept no duty of care or liability for any loss occasioned, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, to any person acting or refraining from actions as a result of any material in this guidance. We would strongly recommend that you consult professional advisors on specific issues before acting or refraining from action on any of the contents of this guidance.

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These guidance documents have been prepared by England Athletics Limited

© England Athletics Limited 2020. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material from these publications is permissible only when attributed to England Athletics.