Rochedale Rovers
FC COVID-19 Update
Introduction
Rochedale Rovers appreciate everyone’s support and patience since
the suspension of football activities.
Football is about to enter Stage 2 of its Restart Program
and we are keen to update you on a return to playing football at Rovers. The
coming weeks will be exciting for everyone at the club with the restart to be
closely followed by the completion of our new Clubhouse and we are planning for
a safe and organised return to playing football again at Underwood Park.
For the last 3 months the FFA, FQ and FB have been working
closely with State Government and Clubs on a plan to restart footballing activities
as soon as it is safe to do so. Even with the Covid-19 outbreak largely under
control this planning task is enormous, especially at club level, with the vast
majority of our resources being volunteers. The details of our plan for a
successful restart process will be forwarded to you as soon as they are
finalised in the coming days.
Significant progress has been made by all involved and a
process for the restarting of football is beginning to emerge with guidelines
around training activities and training schedules almost completed.
Background
On 13th May 2020, the FFA released its “Game plan for
resuming grassroots football in Australia”, which encapsulated guidance from
the national government and details laid out by the AIS in its “Framework for
Rebooting Sport in a COVID-19 Environment” advisory document.
The guidelines prescribe a three-stage process which has
been adopted by the Queensland Government, supported by FQ and FB.
Stage #1 – 13th May to midnight 31st May 2020
Allowed outdoor training in pairs with no contact. This has
not enabled any training activities at the Club to date.
Stage #2 – 8th June to midnight 10th July
The Queensland Government announced on 31st May that it will
bring forward Stage #2 implementation from the 12th June to the 1st June.
At this time Stage 2 conditions were amended from allowing Club
fields to be re-opened on a limited basis with training numbers limited to a maximum
of 20 people at any session over a single Club venue (not field) but we are
still awaiting new advice on allowable training space and participation
numbers. Details of a schedule to accommodate these measures is coming together
and will be shared with you when completed.
It is a requirement, however, that control procedures be implemented
to ensure the provision of a safe training environment with Health &
Hygiene a priority. We are hopeful that training will be able to recommence
without a severe restriction on numbers and allowable space.
We are clearly not in a position to restart with a safe
training environment on 1st June.
It is likely that Rovers will schedule a safe and organised training
restart date of Monday 8th June which will meet all necessary guidelines.
Stage #3 – From 11th July onwards
In Stage 3 of the Restart, from 11th July 2020, up to 100
people will be allowed to be at Underwood Park at any one time, albeit still
with strict control procedures in place.
Following commencement of this stage Football Queensland and
Football Brisbane are currently indicating a re-start for competitive fixtures
in the period of 17th – 24th July 2020 onwards.
It is their intent to schedule as many games as it is safe
and practicable to do so through to the end of an extended season. Football
Queensland and Football Brisbane will advise season structure soon.
COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions
Stages 2 and 3 require clubs to establish Covid – 19 Health
& Hygiene controls at their venues. Some of the detail involved is laid out
in the Football Queensland “Return to Training Guidelines" CLICK HERE
In these control measures, strict social distancing,
sanitisation, health monitoring, equipment cleaning and attendance recording
procedures are mandatory. Other than the fields, no other club facilities will
be opened in Stage 2 and players will be required to arrive wearing their kit and adhere
to the “Arrive, Train, Leave” protocols.
With the Clubhouse in it’s final build stages during this
time, the bar, clubhouse and canteen will not be able to function in the early period
of Stage 3.
Club Volunteers
It is clear from the above requirements that the re-opening
of the Club for football is going to require a major increase in our volunteer
resources to ensure that we are able to meet our compliance obligations
throughout the restart process.
Therefore, we ask all members who have already indicated on
their registrations a keen interest in volunteering at the club to immediately contact
Amanda Hansen at the club @ hansenhouse2@bigpond.com who will advise on the tasks requiring assistance for us to provide a safe
environment for our players and coaches. Volunteers will be based around each team
group so that compliance obligations are met without disrupting the sessions
for players and coaches.
Becoming a Club Volunteer for a few months so that we can keep
everyone at the Club safe and get players back playing again will be greatly
appreciated by myself and the Rovers Committee.
Looking Ahead
Everything being planned and implemented over the coming
months will be a new experience for us all and while it will be difficult for all clubs, it comes at a time
for Rovers when we will be getting used to our new Clubhouse . As always, your club officials, volunteers
and coaches will be trying their very best to provide the best possible
environment for a safe return to football but I know that we can fortunately rely on the members of Rochedale Rovers
to carry the Rovers spirit through these challenging times as we are all in this together!
Come On You Rovers.
Yours sincerely,
RRFC COMMITTEE