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COVID-19 Advice for our Members (as of 19 March 2020)

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19 March 2020

Re:  COVID-19 & SOCIAL COMPETITION FINALS SERIES ADVICE (as of 19 March 2020)

Dear Members,

Yesterday, the national governing body of touch football, Touch Football Australia (TFA), released a statement in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and touch football competitions. It stated that based on Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s COVID-19 national update (Wednesday 18 March 2020) stating that communal places such as school and public transport will remain open, and conversations with Sport Australia, TFA’s current position, in conjunction with the state governing body of touch football, NSW Touch Association (NSWTA), is to keep community touch football competitions (of under 500 people) all around the country open (unless administrators of those competitions decide to close their own competitions).

It continued that current advice from Sport Australia around community sport is that “exercise and participation in sport remains an important part of physical and mental health for everyone. For those who are well, they should continue to be active by engaging in exercise and playing sport”.

The full statement from TFA can be viewed at https://touchfootball.com.au/touch-football-community-comps-to-remain-open-based-on-updates/.

Based on the latest advice from federal government, Sport Australia, and the national and state governing bodies of touch football, Orange Thunder Touch Football will continue to operate the finals series for the 2019-2020 social competition for Mixed, Men’s and Women’s divisions.

Although the 2019-2020 social competition finals series will continue, please note that the joint Grand Final Day for all social competitions will NO LONGER go ahead on Saturday 28 March 2020, due to the predicted number of attendees having the potential to exceed 500 people.

As such, Orange Thunder Touch Football will hold Grand Finals separately for Mixed (Tuesday) and Men’s and Women’s (Thursday) on their respective usual nights of competition.

This is an unfortunate decision our club have had to make, however we have been required to make this decision to stay within the current advice from the federal government. We understand that this schedule change may affect the ability of teams to participate, but it is a decision to ensure our safety of our members is not compromised.

With this adjustment this means the current format for the remainder of our 2019-2020 social competitions will be as follows:

  • Thursday 19 March 2020 – Week 1 Men’s and Women’s finals series
  • Tuesday 24 March 2020 – Week 2 Mixed finals series
  • Thursday 26 March 2020 – Week 2 Men’s and Women’s finals series
  • Tuesday 31 March 2020 – Mixed Grand Final
  • Thursday 2 April 2020 – Men’s and Women’s Grand Final

Although our finals series is proceeding, Orange Thunder Touch Football encourages all players, and their families, to consider the health risks associated with participating in sporting events at this time. We stress that the decision to participate in our social competition finals series at this time is LEFT TO THE INDIVIDUAL.

Any teams which are not comfortable to participate in the finals series are asked to report team forfeits to our club by email orangeseniortouch@yahoo.com.au.

Our club also wishes to stress the latest advice provided by Sport Australia, which includes:

  • Hand hygiene remains the single best action individuals can take to reduce their risk of acquiring any respiratory or gastrointestinal tract infection. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Orange Thunder Touch Football will have accessible hand sanitizer available at our venue for use.
  • If you are coughing and sneezing, do so away from people and into a tissue or your elbow. Dispose of tissues immediately in a bin and wash your hands. Orange Thunder Touch Football will have bins available at our venue.
  • Clean all communal sporting equipment after use. Orange Thunder Touch Football will clean balls after each match.
  • Only spectate matches if necessary and use social distancing measures such as staying 1.5 metres apart while spectating.
  • Consider that ‘close physical contact’ with an opponent may expose an athlete to risk. This consideration should be made by the individual in relation to their participation.

Please see below COVID-19 tipsheet released by TFA.

TFA has implemented a Reporting Protocol for those being tested for COVID-19 or diagnosed with the virus. If you have played in a touch football competition within 14 days of being tested for COVID-19, or if you have been diagnosed with the virus, email coronavirus@touchfootball.com.au immediately.

It is essential for all members to note the fluidity and changing daily nature of the current situation, and as such, any decision our club makes, or advice we provide MAY need to change subject to further information. While we want to provide certainty, we also need to be ready to adapt to changes to the current climate and/or available information. Should there be any changes to the above information, we will promptly update our members.

Regards,

Cathy Goodlock
President
Orange Thunder Touch Football

COVID-19 Advice for Members (as of 19 March 2020)
COVID-19-Tipsheet-A4-TFA

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