Ashley Cullen is thinking about what he will need to put in place to get back on court.
What have you been doing since Volleyball England announced that the plan to get back on court had been accepted by the Government?
Ashley Cullen Team Manager of England Cadets has been looking at what he is going to do next
In light of the recent positive news about a Return to Volleyball for beach, outdoor and indoor, there is inevitably a great deal of excitement. Already, several people have been in contact with me and want to be out playing as soon as possible. So, in my own words, these are some of the the main take-aways from the working group I have been involved with over the last 2-3 months;
we need to engage with our venues to determine whether they are ready and willing to welcome us; I am already aware that some schools, colleges and universities may not be ready until much later this year or even until 2021.
we need to follow the ’small print’ in the action plans published in the recent Volleyball England announcement; in no particular order, these cover sanitisation (hands, balls, equipment); adhere to the frequency and duration of time-outs; dependency on electronic or handheld whistles (to prevent droplet transmission); players to bring their own water bottles and refreshments (i.e. no post-match buffets); arrival / departure in kit (i.e. no use of changing facilities); strict toilet protocols; shouting is discouraged, players must refrain from using saliva to get extra traction on their training shoes; no hugging or overt celebrations; maintain social distancing.
currently, the latest guidance allows for a maximum of 30 people at each event; practically, this means 13 people per team, 2 officials and a scorer; this will have obvious implications on how will spectators (including parents) feel.
If I were to draw two immediate actions here, they would be the following;
contact your host venue to determine when they can welcome teams back and ask to see their own risk assessments
read the small print in the action plans published on the Volleyball England website (ignorance is not an excuse)
Please remember these actions are in place to protect each other. For now, this is the ’new normal’. Hopefully, over time, a number of these measures can be relaxed.
In the meantime, let’s get out and play!
Thank you Ashley
