Return to Play gathers further momentum after successful move to Level 2

Following a review of our Return To Play Roadmap & Guidance by our Sports Science and Medicine team, overseen by our Chief Medical Officer Dr Dane Vishnubala, we are pleased to report that the move to Level 2 (for all areas apart from those under Government lockdown restrictions) has been implemented successfully across all of our partner clubs and organisations. 

As a logical next step within Level 2 we are now extending the guidance in relation to the number of people permitted within a venue from ‘up to 30 per venue’ to ‘up to 30 per court’. This move also comes as an announcement was made regarding the potential start of the 2020/21 NBL season.

Further recommendations to follow

With the increase in numbers for those clubs that operate out of multi-court venues we would strongly recommend that clubs follow the below advice: 

• Staggered arrival time for players on different courts to avoid congestion into the venue when screening 
• Encourage people to stay in cars or away from screening queues till it is there turn 
• Consider how to reduce the risk when larger amounts of people in the club using multiple courts: 
  • Stagger breaks during practice  
  • Reduce numbers who can use of toilets at the same time 
• Maintain bubbles and avoid players moving between courts and bubbles 
• Consider extra support for COVID-19 officers and screening staff given larger number of players 
• Ensure adequate cleaning and PPE is in place to suit larger numbers. 
• Stagger finish times to reduce congestion when exiting venue. 

Basketball England's Interim Chief Operating Officer Charlie Ford said: "We would like to thank everyone in the basketball community for continuing to follow our guidance ensuring that all members can return to the game safely.  

"We are continuously monitoring Government guidance and speaking with clubs and organisations to gauge feedback and the confidence levels of everyone in the game as we slowly and cautiously get back to the court.

We hope to be in a position shortly to move areas at Level 4 back in line with our National response and all being well move to Level 1 in October ahead of the restart for NBL competition."

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