As we came to the end of spring, around the country leisure centres, swimming pools, gyms, sports clubs and community centres were starting to think about reopening.
But there was lots of uncertainty and lots of questions.
Will we be able to reopen and when? What will the restrictions and rules be? What does a ‘covid-secure environment’ mean and what does it look like for my sport or venue? Will people want to come back if things look and feels different? And importantly, with different rules and social distancing, will my venue or activity be financially viable?
We, at Sport England, set up our Return to play (RTP) working group in May 2020 to focus on understanding the emerging issues for the reopening of community sport and activity, identify where support was needed and, crucially, get answers to the questions.
We also set out to support the sector to develop guidance for their own specific environments or sports and to help government produce guidance that was applicable to the grassroots sector.
The RTP ‘mailbox’ was also set up to capture questions, queries and information – and there were lots!
Coming from all angles, including local authorities, leisure operators, national governing bodies (NGBs), charities and community organisations. The questions weren’t just about what activity would look like but about the workforce, training and competition structures, travel to other areas, spectators, and sport taking place alongside other activities.
The RTP page was set up on our website and launched in June, becoming the hub for all our shared information, including the all-important FAQs and links to the latest government guidance which have been revised time and time again to reflect the changing, new situations and regulations which have emerged.
The hub quickly developed to include everything from guidance on legal risks and duties of care in returning to play, to hygiene guidance for facilities – and everything else in between.
How people felt
In August we carried out an RTP survey which, alongside our conversations with delivery partners, helped bring greater clarity to how people were feeling about getting back to activity.
The findings showed that, although many people were keen to get back to their activities in clubs or groups, they had some concerns:
- Hygiene, cleanliness of the activity or facility
- The impact of restrictions on their experience – a modified version of the activity might not work for everyone
- How well other participants stick to the rules around hygiene and social distancing.
Those feeling most anxious about returning to activity, unsurprisingly, were people with long-term health conditions or a disability, women and older people.
Successfully returning
One of the key characteristics of organisations getting back up and running successfully, in re-assuring participants and in building their confidence, has been good communication.
Here’s how people did it:
- Telling and showing customers what measures had been put in place before they came back.
- Outlining to them what to expect when they arrived for activities and explaining the rules.
- Reminding them, on a regular basis, in a friendly way.