With the introduction of the latest tiering restrictions this has brought another change to way we can play hockey at Mill Farm. It also impacts Adult playing and Junior playing in different ways. We have tried to make this clear and easy to follow in the information below, but if you have any questions please contact us via Teamo or through the website contact form.
Adult / 18 and over:
We have had clarification tonight from EH and DCMS that whereas in tier 3 we can return to playing at a local level it is not permitted to play outside your area boundary.
This means that we are obliged to advise you that members who are resident within the Blackpool or Blackburn with Darwen areas will not be able to attend training or games at Mill Farm whilst we remain in tier 3. Both Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen are unitary authorities and therefore considered to be different tier 3 areas by the government.
U18s:
All U18 players are allowed to travel for U18 training and U18 matches even across the tier areas mentioned above but not for Adult/senior training ir Adult/senior matches.
If you fall in these areas and your training is with senior teams (1st 2nd, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths) we have other junior training and over 14s training which you could attend. Please contact the Junior Club Captain, Katherine Wholey, or contact us via the website to check which training you could attend.
Umpires and Coaches
You are allowed to cross area boundaries to fulfil Umpire or Coaching roles.
Updated Covid playing guidelines
We will also be putting in place some new rules which should facilitate a safer COVID environment for all players/ coaches and volunteers at the club. They are as follows:
Session Timings
Each session will finish 5 minutes before the current allotted end time, to enable players to leave the pitch prior to the next session starting. This will also enable coaches to collect the balls and equipment to be sanitised before the next session commences.
No new session can begin without the coach being present at the gate to allow players in, at this stage can coaches please ensure that all players have scanned in.
Registers
The above protocol should then allow coaches to ensure all new players entering the pitch, have scanned in, and selected their training session, ensuring we have accurate registers to send to England Hockey.
We will also be conducting checks on the first session back, where someone will have access to see who has scanned in, those that have not will not be allowed to start the session until they have done so.
Moving forward if players do not scan in correctly, we will be looking to suspended them for the next equivalent session whether that be training or a fixture. The club needs to demonstrate that this is imperative to ensure we comply and that hockey can continue at Fylde HC.
We recognise this constant change can be incredibly frustrating. The tier structure is being reviewed every two weeks and we hope the current limitations on our ability to all play the sport we love will change in the near future. In the meantime stay safe, stay well.
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