Coronavirus (COVID-19): grassroots sports guidance for the public and sport providers
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The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has
published guidance setting out information for the public and sport
providers on how to participate in grassroots sport and physical
activity during COVID restrictions. This guidance takes account of
changes in the law that take effect on 29 March. It will be
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The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has published guidance setting out information for the public and sport providers on how to participate in grassroots sport and physical activity during COVID restrictions.
This guidance takes account of changes in the
law that take effect on 29 March. It will be updated
ahead of any relevant changes in the roadmap steps.
Later changes, including from Step 2, are set out in
the roadmap. Sport and physical activity play a hugely important role in our lives, however to uphold wider public health objectives, limits have been placed on some activities and settings in order to limit social contact and reduce transmission. Staying active is a vital weapon against COVID-19, which is why people will always be able to, and encouraged to, exercise even during periods of tough restrictions. People should try to ensure they exercise regularly in a way that suits them, as physical activity plays a vital role in both our physical and mental wellbeing.
This guidance sets out information for the public and
sport providers on how to participate in grassroots
sport and physical activity during COVID-19
restrictions. Sport providers should use this guidance
to inform how they provide grassroots sport and
physical activity, alongside specific guidance for
their sport set out by their national governing body.
There is also more detailed
advice for national governing bodies and other
organisations on how to develop their own
sport-specific guidance, which includes the team sport
framework, contact combat sport framework, and guidance
on delivering sport participation events (such as races
and organised walking groups). Where the rules mention ‘organised’ sport, this means sport which is formally organised by a qualified instructor, club, national governing body, company or charity and follows sport-specific guidance. If the sport is not organised by one of these groups (for example, some friends having a kickabout) or the sport’s NGB guidance is not being followed (for example, a football club ignoring the FA’s safety measures), this is considered to be informal or self-organised sport.
Taking part in organised sport sometimes means that
other restrictions such as legal gathering limits don’t
apply when taking part. This is because the organising
body has considered the risks and set out ways to
mitigate them so people can participate safely.
Informal or self-organised sport is not covered by any
exemptions. Public outdoor recreation Under the national restrictions, people must stay at home and not meet others from outside their household (or support/childcare bubble), except for a limited number of legally permitted reasons, such as essential work that cannot be done from home, and exercise and recreation. People can leave their homes to take part in exercise or recreation (such as a picnic) in an outdoor public place. This should be limited to once per day, in their local area. They can do this alone, with their household or support bubble, in a childcare bubble (where providing childcare) or with 1 person from another household (one-to-one). Children under 5, and up to 2 carers for a person with a disability who needs continuous care, are not counted towards the gathering limit on two or more people exercising and undertaking recreation outside. People with health conditions that routinely require them to leave the home to maintain their health can do so (with a carer if necessary), including if that involves travel beyond the local area or exercise multiple times a day. Sport for educational purposes and wraparound care Pupils and students in all schools and further education settings returned to face-to-face education on 8 March. Schools and colleges have the flexibility to decide how physical education, sport and physical activity will be provided while following the measures in their system of controls. Pupils should be kept in consistent groups, with sports equipment thoroughly cleaned between each use by different individual groups. You can find more information in the Department for Education guidance on actions for schools. Wraparound childcare (including childminders) and other children’s activities can take place for all children where it is needed to enable parents or carers to work, seek work, attend education, seek medical care or attend a support group. Vulnerable children can attend these settings regardless of circumstances. Except as set out in the next section, sport for under-18s can only take place at school as part of educational provision, or as part of wraparound care, and should not otherwise take place at this time. Schools are able to use external facilities for school sport and to invite external coaches onto the school site to deliver school sport. You can find more information in the Department for Education guidance for activity in out-of-school settings. Competition between different schools should not take place until wider grassroots sport for under-18s is permitted in step 1B (from 29th March). People with disabilities People with disabilities can participate in organised outdoor sport without being subject to social contact limits. Non-disabled people are not permitted to participate, except where necessary to enable the sport to take place (such as a carer or coach helping the disabled person to participate). Facilities All indoor and outdoor sport facilities are currently closed, and cannot be used for exercise or recreation. People can exercise or take part in recreational activity only in an outdoor public place. People should stay within their local area (for example, within the village, town, or part of the city where they live), and should not travel to take part in exercise or recreation. Public outdoor places include:
Sport facilities can open for some purposes including sport for educational purposes, sport as part of wraparound childcare and for elite sport. You can find more information in the guidance for sport facilities. Travelling for sport Until Step 1B (29 March) the ‘Stay at Home’ restriction will be in place. This means you must not leave home without a reasonable excuse. When leaving your home for permitted reasons, you should stay local and minimise time spent outside your home. This means you should avoid travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live. You should reduce the number of journeys you make overall. Personal training and coaching Personal training and coaching can continue, where this is 1:1, 2:1 with someone from another household, or in your bubble or household. The personal trainer or coach is exempt from the legal gathering limits for work purposes. This should only take place in a public outdoor place, and not in someone’s private home or garden. Social distancing should be maintained between people who do not live together or share a support/childcare bubble.
Coaching education and training courses can be
delivered through the education exemption. From 29 March, the rules on social contact will change. People will not be required to stay at home, and will be permitted to meet outdoors in groups of up to 6 people, or as a group of two households, for exercise or recreation. A group made up of two households can include more than 6 people, but only where all members of the group are from the same two households (or support/childcare bubbles, where eligible). Social distancing must be maintained between people who do not live together or share a support bubble. Organised outdoor sport
Specific sports and activities
Sport facilities
Spectators
Guidance for specific groups Elite sport
People with disabilities
Sport for educational purposes
Activities for children (or those who were under 18 on 31 August 2020)
Traveling for sport
4. How to
participate safely Before attending any sporting activities, all participants, officials, volunteers and spectators must self-assess for COVID-19 symptoms:
If you have one or more of these symptoms you should not attend any sporting activity, and must follow NHS and PHE guidance on self-isolation.
People with health conditions that put them at
increased risk should consider the risks of
participating in group activities like sport and
physical activity. Before participating in any sporting activity, you should check whether your sport is safe to play. Every sport’s national governing body should have published guidance on how to participate safely. You should ensure you are following the national governing body’s latest guidance, and follow any measures put in place by the sport provider or event organiser, even where this means modifications to the game. Additional measures (team sport, contact combat sport) There are additional measures for team sports and contact combat sports (such as boxing, wrestling and martial arts). These sports should have their action plans approved before they can resume contact activity (advice for sports on how to do this is set out in the guidance for safe provision of grassroots sport). If you want to participate in a team sport or a contact combat sport, you should check whether its guidance has been approved (sports which have received approval are listed at the bottom of the page). If the sport is listed, the sport’s guidance has been approved.
If the sport is not listed, it is not yet considered to be an organised sport.
This additional measure does not apply to all
sports. Sports in which people primarily
compete as individuals (such as tennis or golf) are
not listed as they do not need to submit their action
plans for approval, but you should ensure you are
following the sport’s published guidance on how to
participate safely. Spectators are not currently permitted at organised sport activities. This does not apply to carers for people with disabilities, or adults needed to supervise under-18s in a safeguarding role. Where it is necessary for them to be present, supervising adults should not mix with others from outside their household or support bubble. What you should do (when spectators are permitted):
Match officials, medics and coaches Match officials, medics and coaches should observe the relevant guidance in the same way as participants. Where legal gathering limits apply, people participating in a work or volunteering capacity (such as match officials, medics and coaches) are exempt and therefore not included in the number of participants. However they must remain socially distanced from players where possible during play. Should match officials not be able to remain socially distanced due to their role in the sport, the sport’s national governing body or local provider should conduct a risk assessment to see if other mitigations may be necessary.
Match officials will be empowered to ensure that
COVID-secure measures are adhered to, and to enforce
this through appropriate sanctions set out by the
sport’s national governing body or event organiser. All national governing bodies and organised sport providers must undertake a risk assessment for their sport or activity and publish guidance on how people can participate safely, including any modifications required to training or game-play. This should be updated when needed to reflect any relevant changes to measures such as gathering limits. This should be provided by your national governing body (NGB) or organised sport provider or found on their website; you should check to ensure you are following the latest guidance and taking appropriate measures. Organised sport providers must ensure they follow their NGB’s guidance and have the appropriate measures in place to offer their sport safely. Each provider should undertake their own risk assessment, including ensuring that operators, organisers and volunteers are aware of modifications to game-play or activity structure. They should also write their own action plan to be distributed to all relevant personnel, including coaches and welfare officers. Action plan approval Some sports need to have their plans approved before people can participate in them as organised sports. Team sports and contact combat sports must submit their action plans for approval. You can find more detailed advice in the guidance for safe provision of grassroots sport, which includes the team sport framework, contact combat sport framework, and guidance on delivering sport participation events (such as races and organised walking groups). Sports in which people primarily compete as individuals (such as tennis or golf) do not need to submit their action plans for approval. NHS Test and Trace Many sport providers and facilities are required to keep a record of all visitors, customers and staff on the premises, to support NHS Test and Trace. This includes:
However this does not apply to all facilities (for example, outdoor sport facilities in public places where it is not possible or practical to collect information from all spectators), so you should check the NHS Test and Trace guidance to see if this applies to you. What you need to do If this applies to you, you are required to keep such a record and you must:
Your NGB’s guidance will set out the process you should follow to collect information, and you can find more detailed advice in the guidance on NHS Test and Trace. Organising sporting activities When planning a sporting activity, you should ensure that:
You should also ensure you are adhering to important safety measures:
Sanctions for non-compliance Sporting activities are permitted despite wider restrictions because of the benefits of sport and physical activity for people’s physical and mental wellbeing. If people act irresponsibly when participating in sport (including off the pitch, and when socialising before and after activity), they jeopardize public health and undermine the case for safe sport to take place. National governing bodies and organised sport providers should ensure that clubs, leagues and providers are running activities safely, and should take action to address any issues. This includes putting in place additional measures or suspending players, teams, leagues or clubs which do not adhere to guidance. If there are serious or consistent concerns with a particular sport which the NGB or organised sport provider cannot or does not address, approval may be revoked so that the sport cannot take place. Off-field activity Sport providers should put in place measures to limit transmission risk from off-field activity, including:
On-field activity All sport providers must follow their national governing body’s or organised sport provider’s guidance on how to participate safely in their sport or activity. This includes any modifications to game-play required (e.g. limits on numbers for indoor activity, reducing physical contact or face-to-face exposure). Providers should also put in place additional mitigations to reduce unnecessary contact, such as removing pre-game handshakes, face-to-face interaction, and scoring celebrations. Providers should ensure that participants remain socially distanced during breaks in play with spaced areas for equipment and refreshment storage, including officials and substitutes. Coaching staff and substitutes, should, for example, be spread out and avoid sharing a dugout or bench if social distancing cannot be observed. Water bottles or other refreshment containers should not be shared under any circumstances. Participants are advised to bring their own, in a labelled or highly distinguishable container. Participants should be asked to refrain from spitting or rinsing out their mouths on or around the playing area. Sharing of equipment must be avoided where possible, particularly that used around the head and face, such as helmets. Where equipment is shared, equipment must be cleaned before use by another person. Sports where a ball needs to be handled by multiple players (such as basketball, cricket, or football) must follow the measures put in place by their national governing body to reduce the transmission risk (for example, by pausing play to sanitise the ball at regular intervals). Shouting and singing increase the risk of transmission, particularly in close proximity situations or when face-to-face. Coaches and substitutes should refrain from shouting, and those on the pitch should avoid it where possible. Use of facilities All facilities providers should follow the guidance for sport facilities. That sets out specific information on how to operate an indoor or outdoor facility safely (including changing rooms and toilets), and measures that should be taken to minimise risk (such as one-way systems, capacity limits and social distancing). Injuries and emergencies Injuries should still be treated, as participant safety is of the utmost importance. Physios and other medical personnel should take care to protect themselves and others through rigorous cleaning and personal hygiene, including increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting equipment and surfaces. Wearing face coverings is recommended for both medics and patients, where this is possible and practical. After contact with an injured participant, physios and other medical personnel should clean their hands thoroughly with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitiser at the earliest opportunity. This advice is applicable to all situations, regardless of whether there was close contact or the minimum social distancing was maintained. They should also avoid touching their mouth, eyes and nose. Physios and medical personnel should keep a record of each participant they have come into contact with, to support NHS Test and Trace (advice set out above in the section on NHS Test and Trace may be helpful). Records should be kept for 21 days and then destroyed. Those working at a sport event should familiarise themselves with the guidance for first responders, in case of emergency situations. |