Safe Return to Play - April 26th 2021...

From Mon April 26th, underage (u18) non-contact outdoor training in pods of 15 or fewer can restart. No games are allowed at this time. Bride Rovers GAA aim to have a strong approach to support a safe return to play for all members; to provide a consistent approach across the three clubs (adult, juvenile and ladies); and to adhere to the evolving advice from the national GAA Covid-19 Advisory Committee.

Recently, all Covid Supervisors/Team Mentors provided feedback on their experience of our previous return to play process in late June 2020. Many of the same protocols will apply this year and, to this end, an online meeting will be held on this Thursday 22nd April at 8pm to share and refine our approach. Three key messages for players and their parents/guardians as we return to play are:

-Similar to school, parents/guardians should not allow their child to attend training if they feel in any way unwell, especially if they are displaying any symptom of Covid 19. This simple principle will protect the health of all at this time.

-In general, only players and coaches of teams should attend any training session. One Parent or Guardian per child (or per family if more than one child is attending from a particular family) is permitted to attend in a safeguarding /supervisory capacity involving any team in the -- -U-18 or below age group, should they consider it necessary.

For any few parents who do attend, strict social distancing and public health guidelines should be always adhered to. It is important that parents do not congregate in groups before, during, or after sessions. Like congregating at the school gate, parents congregating at the side of the field/astro when training presents a significant public health risk factor. It is an issue which team mentors and club officials ask parents not to do. Ideally, we ask parents to remain in their car.

All club members, and particularly parents of players who are due to resume training next week are encouraged to engage in the learning programme at https://learning.gaa.ie/covid19learning  and a report on the approach taken last year is available on p.18-20 of the Annual Report 2020 (available at https://bit.ly/3dK4Jl9)