Announcement

Stage 2 Takeaways

Posted by Vancouver Island Field Hockey Association (Men) on Oct 13 2020 at 12:31PM PDT in Season 2019-20
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On behalf of Field Hockey Victoria here are the key takeaways for Stage 2 FHBC Return to Play:

The details below and the document attached does not replace all of the details of requirements and checklists in the full Sept. 29 FHBC Stage 2 Return to Play plan (see link at bottom). It is specifically geared for the Field Hockey Victoria general participant and parent audience.

Stage 2 Definition
The FHBC second stage responsible return to play is defined as a progressive game play
return – permitting the creation of ‘cohorts’ (participant bubbles or pods) allowing for
greater participant interaction within the field of play only (field of play defined as
inside the playing perimeter white lines).

Attestation forms
Participants (all players, coaches, safety officers, officials) need to sign a COVID-19 participant attestation form prior to each activity session (even if that is multiple sessions in the same day).

  • This can be done electronically or on paper but must be properly tracked, organized and able to be provided upon request

Liability & Insurance
While we are all doing our part to limit transmission of COVID-19, the Return to Play framework is also built to cover liability and insurance. As with any session, all players, coaches and officials must have valid FHBC membership so they have their player insurance. In addition, all organized sport activity on any field or venue must follow the appropriate FHBC return to play guidelines for liability purposes which for liability reasons must include:

  • Insured participants (valid FHBC memberships)
  • Contact tracing for each session of each participant
  • Organizing group has an Emergency Action Plan

Contact Tracing
For contact tracing purposes, the organized sport group of the activity must collect the first and last names and telephone number or email address of all activity participants. Please ensure cohort record keeping is up to date and able to be provided upon request.

Physical Distancing
Regardless of whether your session is in Stage 1 or Stage 2, outside the playing perimeter white lines stage one physical distancing protocols apply requiring all participants to maintain a physical distance of 2 meters.

Participants must commit to a single cohort
All members participating in Stage 2 Return to Play are limited to a single cohort (except those in a FHC or FHBC high performance program).

Coaches and Officials may be counted outside the total cohort number if they are able to
maintain physical distancing at all times.

Stage 1 training sessions are not cohorts as there are coach to athlete ratios and physical distancing at all times. Therefore, participants could play in a Stage 1 training session and one Stage 2 cohort. It is recommended that coaches, officials and players consider the number of people they are exposed to regardless of if physical distancing is in place or not.

Example scenarios:

  • A player training in Stage 2 club practice cannot participate in men’s or women’s league
  • A player competing in the women’s or men’s league can participate in a Stage 1 club practice (physical distancing and coach:athlete ratios at all times)
  • A player participating in a FHBC Regional program can participate in men’s or women’s league (note: those athletes are limited to 2 cohorts)
  • Two different cohorts playing in opposite ends of the same field are not permitted

A team within a cohort
In stage 2, you can have up to 4 teams within a single cohort. This cohort includes:

  • Max 4 teams per cohort (max 2 teams per field at a time)
  • Max 24 individuals per team made up of max 20 athletes, 1 required coach 1 required safety officer, 1 optional umpire, 1 optional TD for a total maximum of 24 people
  • If you don’t have an umpire or TD, you cannot add players. The maximum number of players is 20.
  • Players must remain on their designated team within a cohort. Movement between teams is not permitted.
  • While 4 teams make up a cohort, only 1 or 2 of the teams can be inside the facility at a time. i.e. if Team 1 and 2 are playing a game, Team 3 and 4 cannot warm up on the side of the field. They cannot enter the pitch until Team 1 and 2 have cleared the field.

Cohorts should remain together for an extended period of time. If looking to change cohorts, implement a two-week break between activities.

Umpires

  • Players who are also umpires may only umpire in their playing cohort. This also applies to coach-umpires.
  • Non-playing umpires may umpire in a maximum of 2 cohorts, in either league, provided they can maintain physical distancing at all times.
  • Non-player umpires will need to declare which cohort(s) they will umpire in

Venue and Equipment setup

  • Ensure ‘Athlete Equipment’ areas are set up and marked. Each athlete is assigned a spot, 2 meters or more from each other.
  • All equipment to be placed from a safe distance away from all sidelines to ensure umpires safety during competition
  • No sharing of personal equipment – Water bottles, Sticks, gloves, shin pads, mouthguard, clothing, including all Penalty Corner Equipment.
  • Cleaning/Sanitizing protocols for team bench and technical areas are in place that may require additional to allow for the effective changeover of field activity user/group.

Types of Stage 2 Return to Play:
1. Modified formats of play such as 7v7, 5v5, 8v8 (even on shared fields)
2. Standardized play (11v11 games like normal)
3. Standardized training environment (practice that includes scrimmages, 2v1s, etc.)

Local Sport Organizations

  • Field Hockey Victoria
  • VILFHA (ladies league)
  • VIFHA (mens league)
  • VFHUA (umpires association)
  • Cowichan Field Hockey Association

Read these takeaways as a PDF attached.

Read full FHBC Stage 2 Return to Play framework here: https://www.viasport.ca/sites/default/files/2020%20Second%20Stage%20Responsible%20Return%20to%20Play%20Framework%20-%20Field%20Hockey%20BC%20COVID-19%20Response%20-%20September%2029%202020%20%28Updated%20and%20Appr.pdf

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