Message from Pete Ackerley.
Earlier this evening Boris Johnson announced a four-week delay to the lifting of all Covid-19 restrictions in England. This has now been postponed until 19 July. As we’ve already received questions about what this means for British American football, I wanted to take a moment to reassure you that that our plans for league competition remain unchanged by this decision.
However, as case numbers across the UK continue to rise, I want to remind you that it’s still really important that our clubs and members continue to take as many proactive measures as possible to stay safe and make sure games can go ahead. Please make sure you’re following our Return to Play guidance at all times and remain cautious when undertaking activity.
I also want to highlight our BAFA Rules Adjustment for Covid-19, which apply across all our formats. The delay in lifting restrictions in England means that our ruling on wearing a face covering in the team area, unless you are a player preparing to enter the field, remains in force for now. This is in place because we know that people may find it difficult to distance in a crowded area like a sideline or may forget themselves during the flow of the game.
Clubs should also consider discouraging spectators from attending games unless required for the supervision of a child or vulnerable adult. If people do spectate, put plans in place with your venue to manage this and clearly communicate that social distancing is still required and outdoor gathering limits for your nation should be adhered to at all times.
Please also remember to regularly self-assess yourself for any symptoms of Covid-19. Don’t attend practices or games if you have any symptoms or have been asked to self-isolate for any reason. We also strongly encourage the regular use of rapid lateral flow tests amongst all our members. This is not mandatory, but is a simple, easy to use and free precaution. Packs of test kits are available to order for free from the UK government or to collect from a local pharmacy or test site, and can help stop the spread of asymptomatic Covid-19. Remember, about 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 do not have symptoms but can still infect others.
What’s next?
Over the coming days you can expect updated guidance for flag and contact football in Wales. This will increase participation limits ahead of teams returning to competition. We will also share updated flag football guidance for Scotland ahead of adult flag competition resuming, including information on spectators. We will also be sharing some gameday management guidance for clubs in England ahead of contact competition resuming later this month.
In the meantime, please stay safe and take advantage of any opportunities offered for testing in your local area, and vaccination if you’ve not already done do.
Pete
More information and support
For additional information, please visit www.britishamericanfootball.org/Covid-19
If you have any questions, please contact:
covid-19@britishamericanfootball.org – for general Return to Play, Covid-19 safety and other off-field activity related questions
info@bafca.co.uk – for coaching queries
registrations@britishamericanfootball.org – for questions relating to BAFA team or individual membership
adultflagfootball@britishamericanfootball.org – for queries relating to mixed or women’s adult flag football
sreeni.shaji@britishamericanfootball.org – for queries relating to U11,U14 or U17 flag football
warren.smart@britishamericanfootball.org – for queries relating to adult contact football
arran.harrison@britishamericanfootball.org – for queries relating to women’s adult contact football
bucs@britishamericanfootball.org – for queries relating to university football
stuart.potts-perkins@britishamericanfootball.org – for questions relating to U16/19 contact football
