Following the First Ministers announcement on Thursday 18th June 2020, we have now moved into Phase 2 of the Scottish Government Route Map and are pleased to share with you our own ‘Playing it Safe’ Phase 2 guidance aimed at helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19, whilst returning to restricted outdoor volleyball in small groups in the safest possible way.
The safeguarding of the health and wellbeing of the volleyball community and our surrounding local communities continues to be a priority for Scottish Volleyball during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the release of our Phase 1 guidance in May, we have continued to discuss our phased return with key partners including sportscotland and the Scottish Government. This collaboration has allowed us to promptly publish our sport specific guidance for Phase 2.
Our Phase 2 guidance is relevant from today; Monday 22nd June 2020, but we want to highlight that there are certain aspects of this guidance which do not come into play until Monday 29th June 2020.
From the 22nd June 2020, limited cooperative play OUTDOORS in small groups of up to 8 people from a maximum of 3 households is permitted in the case that no outdoor courts or net systems are used.
From Monday 29th June 2020, outdoor sports courts will be permitted to open (subject to facilities being prepared to open safely). This includes setting up portable net systems in a public place. We have provided specific guidance on this opportunity which can be found in our ‘Pop up and Play’ guidance for clubs.
From 29th June where outdoor sports courts and portable net systems are concerned, our guidance allows a maximum of 4 players per court from a maximum of 3 households, to ensure that social distancing measures can be followed. Coaching may take place as long as all social distance, hygiene and household guidance is followed at all times.
Alongside our ‘Playing it Safe’ Phase 2 guidance, we are pleased to launch our ‘Playing it Safe’ Resource Library for Clubs, which includes some basic templates for clubs and members to use to help put our guidance into practice. Please also remember that our professional staff are here to help all clubs with this process of returning safely to our sport whilst adhering to all Scottish Government and sportscotland guidance.
These templates are for reference only and must be adapted to suit your individual club needs and environments.
We fully appreciate that the release of this Phase 2 guidance is just a small step to getting our sport back to full strength, but we very much see it as an opportunity to start our recovery process as a sport with our clubs and members very much at the heart of our return to volleyball.
“On a very personal level I wish all members, volleyball enthusiasts, family and friends the happiest and safest return to outdoor recreational volleyball activity. I hope these documents give you the assurance you need to be outside and enjoy everything we can do right now in relation to our sport. We all need to stay safe so therefore please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any further clarification and support.”
Margaret Ann Fleming MBE
CEO, Scottish Volleyball Association
