Return to Play: Update

On Monday 4 January, the Prime Minister announced a new national lockdown to counter the steep rise in coronavirus (COVID-19) infections in England. Scotland has also moved into full lockdown and tight restrictions are in place in Wales. This means that:

• People should minimise time spent outside their home. It’s against the law to meet socially with family or friends unless they are part of an individual’s household or support bubble.
• People can only leave their home to exercise, and not for the purpose of recreation or leisure, and can do so with one person from outside their household.
• This should be limited to once per day, and individuals should not travel outside their local area.
• When around other people, individuals should stay two metres apart from anyone not in their household – meaning the people they live with – or their support bubble.
• Where this isn’t possible, they should stay one metre apart with extra precautions (such as wearing a face covering).
• Indoor gyms and sports facilities will remain closed.

Effective immediately all wheelchair rugby activity should cease and all Return to Play permissions are revoked until further notice. In addition the GB and Talent camps that were planned for January are cancelled.

We appreciate that the ‘stop-start’ nature of our return to our sport is frustrating and unsettling but we all understand that the government must take these actions to protect our communities and our NHS which we all rely on. We also understand that elite training is still permitted under the regulations and we are reviewing how we might be able to deliver this safely from February onwards. I will meet virtually with all elite athletes and staff on Friday 8 January where we will discuss. As an NGB our number one priority remains the safety of all who make up our wheelchair rugby communities. With the steep rise in infection rates throughout the country we all need to play our part in supporting the government and authorities to tackle the virus and bring it under control. The positive news is the UK has now approved two vaccines over the past month – Pfizer / BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZenec – and these are being rolled out with the prospect that this will be the catalyst for taking control of the virus and ultimately a return to normal life. Thank you for your understanding.

David Pond
Chief Executive