What Happens Next With Return To Play?

England Hockey were delighted to see the roadmap set out this week for the return of outdoor team sports from Monday 29 March onwards. As schools and colleges return to the classroom from

Monday 8 March, we understand that sport in educational settings will be permitted, with full guidance to be confirmed. 

It is great news that the country will once again soon be able to experience the feeling of picking up a stick and returning to their hockey clubs. However, there are still a lot of unknowns

at this stage. We and other national governing bodies now await further detail from the government with specific guidance of what can and cannot be done. In addition to the specific

government guidance for grassroots sport, there will also be wider national considerations to factor in. For example, restrictions on travel and car-sharing, like those seen in October and

November of last year, could greatly impact the level to which we are able to return. Once we have sight of the more detailed guidance and understand fully how this might impact our ability

to return, we will revisit our official Return to Play guidance and documents and publish updated information.

This interim period provides a great opportunity for organisers and deliverers of hockey to read and familiarise themselves with the Planning Safe Hockey guidance. This is intended to be

used as a checklist by anyone delivering or planning hockey activity to address any unsafe practices that may hinder a player's experience of the sport. If you would like support to help

implement or better understand aspects of the guide, please contact your Relationship Manager.

This period also provides a chance for coaches, umpires and volunteers the time to re-engage and freshen up on some of the development, training content and support available via Hockey Hub.

We recognise that the workforce that supports player experiences will be feeling very different about returning to play and may need to adapt where individuals are at different places with

regards to their physical and mental wellbeing - we are keen to help you re-engage with the sport. 

It's great news that the country will soon be able to experience the feeling of picking up a stick

The whole sport has done a fantastic job of patiently waiting and preparing to return safely. We would like to thank you for your spirit and everything you do for the good of the game. We

will communicate more as soon as we can.

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