Coronavirus (COVID-19) – latest advice
Under 18’s Can Travel Across Local Lockdown Area Boundaries for Sport (16th October, 2020)
The Welsh Government have confirmed that from 6pm on Friday 16th October 2020, children under the age of 18 will be able to to travel across local lockdown boundaries to participate in sport. They will be able to be accompanied by one responsible member of their household over the age of 18 if required for transport.
Adults are not permitted to enter or leave local lockdown areas to participate in sport but the regulations will allow adult volunteers, coaches who are required to facilitate activities for under 18s to travel. Clubs should make arrangements to minimise the traveling of adults across lockdown areas, such as only using coaches from that local area.
Read the full version of the Welsh Government guidance here: https://gov.wales/sport-recreation-and-leisure-guidance-phased-return
FAQs on what is permitted in local lockdown areas are available here: https://gov.wales/local-lockdown
You can download TTW’s Amber Phase Graded Return to Play guidance here
Welsh Government Guidance Update Regarding Indoor Sport and Maximum Numbers (Thursday 8th October 2020)
There has been concern raised with the Welsh Government regarding the leisure/sport facilities that could accommodate over 30 people safely but were unable to due to the current Welsh Government guidance. We can confirm that the online guidance was updated late yesterday afternoon which may help larger facilities make better use of their space and allow multiple groups of up to 30 to share a space as long as all safety measures are in place. The guidance was adjusted to contain the following paragraph:
‘Simultaneous gatherings of individuals and groups up to 30 people are allowed within a large space such as a swimming pool, a gym, or a sports hall, as long as the space allows for physical distancing, with groups and individuals separated and managed safely. This should only be considered where space is sufficient to allow 9sqm (100sqft) per person on land or 3sqm per bather in a pool, as set out in UK Active Guidance, where entry and exit for individuals and groups can be managed, and where the space can be partitioned so individuals and groups do not interact, without limiting the ability to allow appropriate ventilation and control environmental factors such as humidity in each space.’
To read the full version, here is the link to the updated online guidance: https://gov.wales/sport-recreation-and-leisure-guidance-phased-return
You can download TTW’s Amber Phase Graded Return to Play guidance here
Local Lockdown and Sport Guidance (Tuesday 6th October 2020)
With local lockdowns in place across 16 local authority areas in Wales we wanted to point you in the direction of the Welsh Government FAQs on the topics for each county.
We are aware that there is a lot of misinformation out there and we wanted to ensure that members, clubs and leagues are clear on the guidance with regards to sport and local lockdown. In conjunction with the Welsh Sports Association, sports have queried this guidance with the Welsh Government and we have been informed that it applies to people of all ages, including children.
Whilst an allowance exists for people to travel across boundaries to access childcare, where there is no reasonable alternative provision, this does not extend to allow travel to access sport and physical activity for children. All sport and physical activity must be carried out within the home county, unless there are specific health care reasons why this cannot be done. Crossing a county boundary to attend classes or other provision in another county is not permitted, even if that is the normal or preferred site of attendance and participation.
As long as individuals of any age, stay within their home county, there are no changes to the regulations affecting sport and people can participate “as normal” in their table tennis activities within the current Covid-19-safe context.
Return to Play Guidance (Tuesday 8th September 2020)
Following the latest indoor sport guidance published by the Welsh Government on the 4th September 2020, TTW has issued its latest guidance to support clubs and community sessions to safely return their members to playing table tennis indoors.
Since the Welsh Government announced that indoor sport could return in a phased manner from the 10th August 2020, we have been supporting clubs to move to the Amber Phase of the Return to Play Roadmap. Guidance documents and intensive support have been given to those clubs who were ready to plan their phased return and the below Graded Return to Play Roadmap video was issued to highlight the measures needed to return.
The Welsh Government have now updated their Guidance for people working in sport, recreation and leisure industries to include information and considerations for indoor sports to return. In response, we have now issued the below ‘COVID-19 Return to Training and Competition Amber Phase Guidance’ to provide high-level advice on the safe resumption of the sport.
Download the guidance here
It is an expectation from the Welsh Government that each club/organisation will:
“…apply appropriate and bespoke solutions that focus on safeguarding participants, staff and the general public, and will give due consideration to the local communities in which they exist and operate”
“Plans should be proportionate, should be reviewed regularly, and must offer a careful, phased approach to re-opening. Organisations should also focus on creating agile solutions that can be paused or rapidly reversed in the event of further Coronavirus outbreaks”.
We will continue to provide support to clubs/organisations who require assistance in interpreting this guidance into their risk assessments and planning. We would also encourage you to keep an eye on our website for the most up to date advice as the ever changing nature of this pandemic means that we will need to react to the latest changes and issue further versions of this guidance with additions or amends to the advice.
We are developing our Elite Return to Play guidance separately as we are required to produce stricter protocols to ensure the safety of the Welsh Squad players in training and competition. This guidance is currently being peer-reviewed by Sport Wales and will be released shortly.
Welsh Government COVID-19 Posters (bilingual)
Return to Play Guidance (Monday 10th August 2020)
After months of being unable to play sport indoors, we are delighted that the Welsh Government has announced that indoor facilities can re-open from today, the 10th August 2020.
We have been working closely with the Welsh Sports Association, Sport Wales and other indoor sports to assure the Welsh Government that indoor sport could restart safely, taking into considerations all the public health guidance around social distancing, hygiene, track and trace etc.
We know that many will be keen to resume table tennis activities as soon as it is safe to do so and our priority will be to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone returning to the sport. In consideration of the evolving Welsh Government guidelines, TTW has developed a Graded Return to Play Roadmap document and video. This ‘traffic light’ approach is intended as guidance for all members of the table tennis community to safely participate and enjoy our sport during this worldwide health issue. At each stage of the reopening of sport, we will issue more in-depth guidance to support a safe return for the community game and our Welsh squad players.
This latest easing of restrictions means that we can move from the red to the amber phase once key measures have been put into place to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We have drafted a more in-depth policy to support this journey and it will be released shortly once it has been peer reviewed and checked. All of our staff have been working hard to support this work and ensure that we can get our much loved sport played safely across Wales.
All of our staff will be supporting clubs and leagues to plan their return and ensure that they have all their necessary steps and paperwork in place. As a first step we are encouraging clubs and leagues to nominate a Covid-19 Officer from their committee and ensure that they have undertaken the WSA awareness training that we are supporting. Regular support webinars and phone calls will continue as throughout lockdown and please reach out if you need further assistance.
In terms of our Welsh squad training, we have been supporting our players remotely throughout lockdown to keep their fitness levels and tactical awareness high. We are liaising with the Sport Wales Elite Return to Sport group to establish any medical protocols that we need to put in place before restarting our sessions as the Welsh Government require a different level of support for our elite squad players.
Please watch our video below on how we are going to navigate through this ‘traffic lights’ approach and support the sport to restart.
For further information on the Graded Return to Play Roadmap, please read the full document below.
Finally, we appreciate everyone’s patience and support during these testing times and we are excited to be taking forward this work to get our members safely back on the table. #returntotable
Return to Play Planning Tools
Guidance for Managing Session Numbers
Player Symptom Declaration Form
Table Allocation Guide- 1 table
Table Allocation Guide- 3 tables