Craughwell AC – Resumption of Athletics on a Phased Basis
(v002, 19 May 2020)

  As many will know, athletics is permitted to resume in a limited manner in accordance with Athletics Ireland’s guidelines which comply with the Government’s roadmap for reopening society. The guidelines are described here – https://www.athleticsireland.ie/news/coronavirus-covid-19-update. The following is how we plan to resume partial activities in the next 3 weeks (phase 1 of the Government’s roadmap):

• Coaching sessions will not yet resume for athletes aged 12 or younger as this is outside what is allowed by Athletics Ireland. It is hoped that parents / children will appreciate that this is just an initial situation and gives us a chance to practice a safe way of training and to adapt it as we go along before reintroducing the younger and larger numbers.
• The above essentially means that athletics for u14s and younger will not yet resume, with these groups hopefully resuming in phase 2 or 3 if permitted by the Government and AAI guidelines.
• For the current phase, the 5km rule remains in place so while it is disappointing for athletes & coaches outside the 5km zone, we need to keep working remotely until phase 2 on 8^th June when it is expected to shift to 20km.
• For the current phase:
  • The facility will reopen from Tuesday 19^th May for members only (club & park members) in initial phases.
  • Restricting to members only is an essential part of the guidelines for reopening so that contact tracing of people using the facility can be employed if necessary.
  • Mike Tobin, as the club’s Facility Officer, will also be the designated Safety Officer during the pandemic.
  • Mike’s contact details are 087 659 1879.
  • Any individual or group using the facility must reserve a timeslot with Mike so that he can restrict the numbers present in any 1 hour.
  • No indoor facilities of any type will be available in phase 1.
  • So no toilets will be available – look after that before you leave home!
  • No equipment will be available – athletes and coaches should bring their own if needed.
  • No handling of any items other than your own equipment/bottle etc.
  • Athletes and coaches should bring their own hand sanitizers, wipes, towels etc.
  • A member family within the 5km limit can come with a parent to use the facility prior to 6pm – this is strictly under parental supervision and not a club activity.
  • Families need to reserve a slot with Mike Tobin and must stay together as a family while on the grounds and not mix with other families if present.
  • Juveniles cannot be present on the facility without a parent or a coach.
  • Anyone with a high temperature, cough or feeling unwell should not come to the facility.
  • Coach-led sessions with groups of less than 4 people (coach + 3) can take place after 6pm. If only 1 adult present with a juvenile group, a parent needs to also observe the training session from their parked car to comply with child safety regulations.
  • The coach must book the timeslot with Mike Tobin and inform Mike who will be attending.
  • If there is more than 1 coach in the group, they each can have a sub-group of 3 athletes – but the sub-groups should not mix during the same training session.
  • The main coach is responsible to ensure the AAI guidelines are followed and will after each session, email the attendees’ names to Mike for contact tracing purposes should the need arise
  • The following training groups can resume on the basis outlined above:
    • This week – Mike T’s older/college group – Mike will contact athletes within the 5km limit
    • 27th May – U16/17s group – again Mike will be in touch with the athletes
  • Mark/Lisa’s older/college group will resume when group size limit is increased from 4
  • Fit4youth is not in a position to resume yet as the main coaches live outside the 5km limit.
• Some will be delighted with this and some will be disappointed. Hopefully all will appreciate that we want everyone back asap and a gradual approach helps us figure out how to do so safely. Given how infectious the disease is and the potential long-term consequences of an infection, I am sure all agree that safety is the priority.

Mike Tobin
Craughwell AC, 087 659 1879