Dear Goalball Family,

We have made three important updates to our return to play guidance in relation to:

Tier measures in England
Face coverings
Equipment Cleaning

Further details about each update can be found below.

1. Tier measures in England

Following the Government announcement in England introducing a tier system we have implemented some changes to our return to play guidance in line with the tier system. Organised disability and youth (under 18’s) sport has again been given an exemption across all three tiers, which while positive we need to continue to ensure balance with the restrictions on activity that are in place for all sports in order to keep all our Goalball Family safe.

In tier 1 (medium) & 2 (high) areas, affiliated club goalball can continue to be delivered following the Goalball UK Return to Play guidance.
In tier 3 (very high) areas affiliated club goalball must not take place. Players, coaches, and volunteers living or residing in tier 3 areas should not travel to affiliated club sessions in tier 1 or 2 areas.
Youth (U18’s) only sessions are exempt in all tiers and areas but must be delivered following the Goalball UK Return to Play guidance.
Education institutions should continue to follow their internal guidelines regarding activity in their indoor sports facilities linked to participant bubbles already in place.

These changes have been reflected in section 11. Future Lockdowns.

Measures across Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales will likely differ so please consult your relevant Government restrictions and apply the Goalball UK Return to Play guidance if indoor disability team sport is permitted.

At this time, we feel it is important to again highlight individuals should be ‘opting in’ into sessions and affiliated clubs should facilitating this as set out in section 3.1 Opting In Principle. All affiliated clubs should register their return plans with Goalball UK using the sign up form here to allow us to provide targeted support.

2. Face Coverings

We have made a slight change to our guidance on face coverings during sessions to fall in line with other indoor spaces:

Face coverings are to be worn by everyone (unless you are exempt) at all times during the session, unless you are playing the game or participating in related activity (e.g. drills, warmup, cool downs etc.).

We recommend changing your face covering if it gets dirty, wet, or damaged. Consider having multiple face coverings available if you are due to be in the sports hall for an extended period of time (more than 2 hours).

This change is reflected in section in 7.5.1 Droplet Transmission Measures, point 10.

3. Equipment Cleaning Guidance

Following more testing and the return of a number of clubs we have updated our equipment cleaning guidance and product links. The equipment cleaning guidance document is now part of the main guidance document as Appendix G.

If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch at: covid@goalballuk.com