“Fire break” ends
The Welsh Government’s “fire break” lockdown has ended here in Wales. With this news, sporting facilities both indoors and outdoors are able to reopen, and we will see a return to sporting activity.
There are some changes to the restrictions that existed before the “fire break”. Detailed FAQs are available, and the regulations themselves have also been published.
Most significantly, organised indoor gatherings are limited to 15 participants, down from the 30 that had been in place until the 23 October. The WSA continues to work with Welsh Government to understand the impact this is having across the sport and leisure sector, as it significantly lowers the capacity of group exercise classes. Funding to support the sector through the impact of Covid19 will be available from Sport Wales shortly.
Organised outdoor activity is largely returning on the same basis that it was permitted before the fire break, with groups of up to 30 able to participate in organised outdoor activity. However, some National Governing Bodies, clubs and other activity organisers may have made changes to their protocols so please check in with them to understand what can be done.
From this week, children under 11 no longer count towards the total number of participants at organised activities, this will also be true for coaches, lifeguards and other individuals involved in safely facilitating sessions.
Where space is sufficient to safely manage multiple groups (both indoors and outdoors), these can train simultaneously so long as proper separation between groups is maintained and they do not ever overlap.
Further information is available on the Welsh Government website