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Back to newsFINAL RUGBY PROTOCOLS TO BE CONFIRMED BEFORE TRAINING STARTS
The New Zealand Government has this afternoon announced the country will be moving to the COVID-19 alert level 2 this Thursday.
As was confirmed last week, community rugby is able to go ahead under level 2 providing good contact tracing is possible and hygiene measures - particularly washing and drying of hands - and regular sanitising of equipment and surfaces are put in place.
The full level two guidelines as they relate to sport can be found here: https://sportnz.org.nz/…/Play-Active-Recreation-Sport-Alert…
Following today’s announcement, we will continue to work urgently with New Zealand Rugby and Sport New Zealand to finalise exactly what the above requirements look like in a rugby context as it relates to our clubs.
This information will be sent out as soon as it is finalised and we would ask our clubs to please refrain from holding any trainings until the various official safety protocols have been received and actioned.
While we are certainly keen to see rugby return to our fields in the coming weeks and today’s announcement is a giant leap in the right direction, the safety of our community is our No 1 priority.
In the coming days, we will be providing you with clear protocols relating to the following areas:
*Return to training
*Return to play
*Hygiene
*Contact tracing
These protocols will spell out clearly what health and safety measures our clubs will need to put in place to ensure the safety of their people specifically within a rugby context. Before training activity can get underway, clubs will need to confirm with the Union that these measures have been actioned.
NZR is yet to confirm dates but at this stage it’s unlikely any local rugby competitions will be able to start before June 13 at the earliest. Again, this will be confirmed as soon as possible but we all need time to get the right safety measures in place before rugby goes ahead.
We are also planning to meet with both the Junior Management Board and the full Council of Delegates to sign off on revised season draws for the 2020 season as soon as possible, while we will also continue to work with our secondary schools to determine the shape of their rugby competitions. Again, all of this information will be distributed as soon as possible.
As mentioned above, today’s announcement by the Government sees us take a giant step towards getting rugby up and running in the region.
All we ask is that clubs please refrain from pushing ahead with any training activity until all health and safety plans are in place.
Please feel free to reach out to either:
Annette Tossell on M: 027 227 9729 E:
annette.tossell@steelers.co.nz
or Dale Tucker on M: 021 388 157 E: dale.tucker@steelers.co.nz
if you require any further information.
Stay safe everyone and we look forward to seeing some rugby again in our region soon.
