Latest News - Northern Ireland

Indoor Sports Training

Following on from our communication in September, please note the following update. We continue to regularly monitor COVID-19 government guidelines, research, and statistics and their impact on athletes and volunteers returning to Special Olympics activities. Considerations include but are not limited to:

· Incident levels of Covid-19 across the island.

· Physical health, underlying conditions, age, and vaccination levels of athletes and/or volunteers.

We would like to confirm our updated position in relation to the Return to Activities for clubs that will guide and support you in your preparations for outdoor and indoor sports training. Following are two options.

 

Option A (POD Approach)

Special Olympics Ireland are continuing to recommend to clubs returning to activities to adopt a ‘POD APPROACH’ to indoor training.

Indoor Sports Training – POD Approach Multiple pods of up to 6 participants will be permitted excluding coaches/ volunteers. Substantial social distance between individual pods is required (minimum of 2M)

Vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals can presently both return to club training and public health measures of 2M social distancing, mask wearing and hand sanitisation continues.

 

Option B (Vaccination Checking)

Where athletes and volunteers have a vaccination card or Domestic Covid Certificate full training sessions can resume without the need for pods.

Indoor Sports Training – Vaccination Checking Athletes and volunteers can bring their vaccination card along to their training night or show their Domestic Covid certificate via the COVIDCert NI app and the club can then mark on the club log of session attendance if a card or certificate has been shown. Vaccinated individuals must still continue with the public health measures of 2M social distancing, mask wearing and hand sanitisation.

 

· All vaccination cards / Domestic Covid certificates must be manually checked and validated.

· The club log of session attendance will act as a sufficient record. Clubs must not keep copies of any vaccination cards for data protection reasons.

Please note:

· That no one should be excluded from club training if they do not possess a vaccination card. If individuals do not have a physical card or Domestic Covid certificate to show then the club should revert to Option A.

· Athlete and volunteer vaccination status is considered as sensitive data under data protection. It is suggested that clubs make themselves familiar with the data protection risk assessment here before carrying out vaccination checks.

We recognise that each club is unique and recommend that the Club Management Team identify which option is suitable for their training session(s).

· It important that clubs consider the impact of Option B if a number of athletes or volunteers cannot produce a valid vaccination card or Domestic Covid certificate. This may mean some participants may not be able to attend training. It is then recommended that Option A is implemented.

· More information on SOI’s Return to Activities Protocol can be found here. Amendments are detailed on the cover page.

 

Inter-club activities

In order to offer competitive opportunities for athletes, inter-club activities are now permitted for outdoors sport / activity only. Inter-club activities can take place between two clubs or maximum of 30 athletes (if you are considering number outside these guidelines, please contact your Regional Office.

In addition to Special Olympics Ireland’s ‘Guide to Organising Inter-Club Activities’; the COVID-19 Coordinator / COVID-19 Activity Lead of the club organising the activity must: · Be familiar with SOI’s Return to Activities Protocol and Government advice

· Review the club’s Covid-19 Risk Assessment to ensure the current control measures are relevant to an inter-club activity

· Ensure adequate controls and procedures are in place for the activity e.g. Hand sanitiser stations, mask-wearing etc.

· Liaise with the invited clubs and inform them of control measures in place

· Be present at the activity to monitor and provide reminders of compliance with physical distancing, respiratory etiquette and hygiene rules Please contact the Regional Team on so.ulster@specialolympics.ie if you have any questions.

 

Mask Wearing

Special Olympics Ireland recognises that the roll out of vaccinations are proving invaluable protection against COVID-19 however, the continuance of wearing masks is required by the organisation due to the health vulnerability of our athletes and the benefit of maintaining identified public health guidelines for infectious diseases.

Due to the health vulnerability of people with an ID, Special Olympics Ireland has taken the additional step of requiring mask wearing for club sessions:

· Mask to be worn on the way into and out of the venue and when moving within the venue (unless the individual is exempt)

· Athletes taking part in physical exercise are not required to wear a mask

· Mask to be worn by coaches and volunteers indoors (unless the individual is exempt)

· Recommendation that a mask is worn outdoors and must be worn where 2m distance cannot be maintained (unless the individual is exempt).