Soccer – Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Training Session Protocols

 

 

Last updated: 19 March 2020

ANZA Soccer Training Session Protocols

We rely on the ANZA Soccer community to comply with these requirements in good faith, for the protection of all in this extraordinary situation.

BEFORE COMING TO THE PITCHES

  1. Parents should decide whether their children should join training sessions. Parents should understand that there will be no repercussions for keeping children home (no loss of game time etc.). ANZA Soccer encourages you to do what you think is best for your family. All training sessions at this time are entirely optional. There is no need to state the reason for your child’s absence at training.
  2. Children and adults must take temperatures and assess health before leaving home. If anyone’s temperature is above 37.5 celsius, the family should STAY HOME. If ANY MEMBER of the household (children, parents, helpers, visitors) has any sign of cold/flu symptoms, the family should STAY HOME. 
  3. If any member of the household has travelled to ANY OTHER COUNTRY within the last 14 days, or is on leave-of-absence from work or school, the family must STAY HOME. Please calculate accordingly: household member’s arrival date is day 1 and stay-home period includes 14th day. For example, for Saturday March 21 games, if any household member arrived back in Singapore on or after March 8, the family must stay home.
  4. Please note that due to our specific circumstances as a recreational youth sports organization and our overall priority of protecting our players as much as possible, our protocol differs from that of the MOH in three important ways: 
    • MOH Stay-Home Notices (SHNs) only kick in for those arriving after a stated date/time; however our policy applies retroactively, meaning it also applies to those who have arrived before such date/time. Therefore “within the last 14 days” does refer to anyone arriving within that time, regardless of when the MOH SHNs start to apply. 
    • MOH has stated they will be announcing different measures for Singaporeans and Malaysians who arrived from Malaysia by land/sea border, whereas our policy also applies as stated to those who arrived from Malaysia by land/sea within the last 14 days. 
    • MOH SHNs do not apply to family members of a traveller, whereas our policy also applies to anyone physically living in the same household as someone who has travelled in the last 14 days to any of the listed countries.
  5. Any family employing a domestic worker returning to Singapore and serving the SHN in their home should also STAY HOME.
  6. For spectators: Our target continues to be at most one parent attending per child, and even fewer spectators if possible. To ensure that we continue to comply with the MOH advisory to keep “the scale of events to below 250 participants where possible,” we ask that parents not accompany their child when possible. 

 

ONCE AT THE PITCHES

  1. Everyone attending should go directly to the Temperature Screening Station beside Pitch 2 (where First Aid is on Saturdays). Players must be temp-checked and given an upper-arm stamp. Coaches and any adults who are staying must also be temp-checked and given an upper-arm stamp. If anyone has a temperature above 37.5 celsius, that person and any family members must leave the pitches immediately. At competition training sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, parent volunteers will be responsible for temp screening/stamping. At Thursday comp teams and general training, First Aid will be present for this task, but may appreciate the help of parent volunteers.
  2. A record will be kept of everyone attending each training session. 
    • For competition and girls’ teams’ training sessions, the designated parent, team manager, or coach will maintain a list of all attending children AND spectators, through the regular channel of team communication (WhatsApp). Please do update for last minute drop-outs / walk-ins, even after the session.
    • For general training sessions, each player’s name must be ticked on the age-group list provided, and accompanying spectators’ names must also be noted. Parent volunteers for each Thursday general training session will be responsible for this task. 
  3. No player may start training until their professional/parent coach has checked that they have a stamp.
  4. During practice, spectators should stay in areas away from the players and avoid interaction with training sessions / players. Any spectators should maintain distance between themselves.
  5. If any player displays symptoms of cold / flu during practice, they will be sent home.
  6. There will be no sharing of water bottles, so make sure your child is bringing their own water bottle.
  7. Everyone is encouraged to wash hands frequently (especially before and after practice) and/or use (BYO) hand sanitizers. Advise your children to wash their hands at the changing room facilities at The Cage on arrival and departure.
  8. Everyone should avoid unnecessary contact, including handshakes, hugs, high-fives, fist-bumps, etc. 
  9. Parents, please help! ANZA Soccer relies on its volunteers!
    • If you are available to help with temperature screening or record-keeping at your child’s training session, please let your Age Group or Comp Team Coordinator know immediately. 
    • Whilst AGCs and Comp Team Coordinators may put out a call for volunteers ahead of training sessions, in case of a lack of response, volunteers will be recruited at the start of the session from parents attending, and sessions can only proceed if volunteers step up.
    • Don’t hesitate to help our members remember these important points so our programmes can continue!

 

Extra information:

  • The Cage is taking extra precautions by increasing cleaning of premises and facilities.
  • The Cage has ordered hand sanitizers, which will be located in/near the spectator areas. 
  • ANZA Soccer’s decisions and protocol policies will continue to be reviewed and amended based on MOH updates and relevant developments.