On Monday (14.06.21) the Government announced that most COVID-19 rules and restrictions will remain in place for England for another four weeks after the originally planned 21 June unlocking.
This news means that we will remain at Step 3 of our Spring 2021 Roadmap for Netball (shown here), which is subject to Government guidelines, until at least 19 July.
As we remain at Step 3 of our netball roadmap, we must continue to adhere to all current netball rule modifications and risk mitigations. Should you need a refresher, you can read our Restart Guidance and Step 3 Addendum that outlines what restrictions remain in place here.
As stated in the Restart Guidance as part of Step 3, these restrictions include having no more than 30 people per court, as well as no mixing with adjacent courts. You are permitted to play a maximum of 60 minutes of netball per day using the modified game rules, any netball activity in addition to the 60 minutes must be socially distanced.
Whilst it has been a joy for us all to be able to get back on court in some capacity following our move to Step 3 in May, we know many of you were hoping and planning for the return of tournaments post 21 June. However, due to the COVID-19 rules remaining in place for another four weeks, any tournaments planned before 19 July must be postponed.
Whilst we have taken steps to reduce the risks of transmission with the COVID-19 rule modifications, tournaments where individuals come into contact with a large number of players and teams (in some cases hundreds of people in one day) are currently deemed as too high risk and are not permitted as part of Step 3.
We know a huge amount of work has been going on behind the scenes to get tournaments scheduled in for this summer, but we must continue to follow the Government guidelines set out for community sport and keep everyone as safe as possible. We want to remind each member of the Netball Family that we are #hereifyouneed and will continue to provide guidance and support to help you navigate your way through this rapidly changing and fluid situation.
Whilst we wait until we can move to step four of the Government’s roadmap, we would like to thank you all for your continued commitment to the game, for your unwavering support and on-going patience. We are extremely grateful for all the time and effort that has been put into getting netball back and to helping the Netball Family – 89,000 members strong – stay connected in these uncertain times.
We will continue to provide updates as swiftly as possible throughout this period. Please stay safe, continue to follow the netball game modifications and sanitisation protocols that are in place. We hope it won’t be long before we can see some more normality return to our game.
