ECB releases updated Guidance for Cricket Indoors
Following the most recent Lockdown, and the introduction of new tiers across the country, the ECB has released a further update to its guidance for Cricket Indoors. All venues, coaching providers and clubs should read carefully before delivering activity indoors this winter.
The purpose of these guidelines is to offer practical guidance to venues, coaching providers and clubs on the steps they should take while undertaking cricket indoors. They should be read in conjunction with latest UK Government regulations but please note these guidelines could change in response to the current COVID-19 Alert Level or other Government advice in both areas. It is essential that venues, coaching providers and clubs follow the guidance.
In order to keep cricket going as it moves indoors, there will need to be adaptations in place for all, including venues, coaching providers, players, parents/carers, spectators and officials. Those adaptations relate to activity prior to, during and after cricket activity.
Please view the full guidance here:
ECB Guidance for Cricket Indoors in England - December 2020 Update
Changes to previous Guidance
This latest guidance is the third version of ECB's Indoor Guidance, and so we would make reference to the following main changes:
- New guidance on group size restrictions
- New guidance on face coverings
- New guidance on recording participant information for contact tracing schemes
Supporting Documents
Please find below links to latest supporting documents:
Further changes to come
Following the release of ECB's updated guidance, the Government has also released update guidance for the Sport sector; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-grassroots-sports-guidance-for-the-public-and-sport-providers.
Within this guidance, there are some differences to ECB's latest guidance, namely in relation to:
Travel between tiers - The Government guidance says; "...Travel is also permitted where it is necessary to enable sport for disabled people, sport for educational purposes, or supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s, to take place, but should still be minimised and kept to short distances only..."
*This means that any under 18 participants on Wiltshire Cricket programmes who may live in a tier 3 area are permitted to travel in to a tier 2 area for the purpose of participating in an organised Sport activity
Under 18s - The ECB's guidance currently reads that exemptions for under 18s only apply until a person turns 18 based on Date of Birth, as opposed to school year. However, within the Government guidance for the Sport sector it now reads; "...All supervised activity for children (including outside school) is exempt from legal gathering limits, and can happen in any number. This includes organised team sports and all supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s. This includes young people who were 17 at the start of the academic year, even if they turn 18 during the remainder of that year. This applies to young people who were under 18 on 31 August 2020, even if they turn 18 during the remainder of the academic year..."
*This means that exemptions for under 18 activity do now apply to any participant within school year 13, regardless of when they turn 18 within that year
