Rebooting Gymnastics in South Australia


Key links and downloads for Member Clubs

Update from SA Health - 22 January 2021

As per an emailed received from the State Control Centre – SA Health on Friday 22 January, the current recommendations for all Affiliated Gymnastics Club regarding cleaning and contact tracing moving forward are below:

  • Contact Tracing at all gymnastics sessions must be maintained, through QR Code or manual sign in.
  • You must have measures in place to maintain and encourage others to maintain the physical distancing principle of at least 1.5 metres separation.
  • Staff should stay home if they are sick and go home immediately if they become unwell.
  • Hand sanitiser must be encouraged before, during and after every session (this includes coaches and participants)
  • Regularly wipe high touch surfaces (between each session).
  • Undertake a thorough clean of all areas and equipment a minimum of once per day.
  • While foam pits can be used, Gymnastics SA recommends the use of landing mats where possible to promote ease of cleaning.
  • A COVID Marshal must be present at all times.


“Gymnastics South Australia considers regular cleaning important to stop the spread of any infectious disease and should form a normal part of all club operations.”


At the end of the day, it is ultimately the Clubs decision and responsibility to identify any risks, how they will manage these risks and whether you choose to use all pieces of equipment etc.
Update as at 23 November 2020 

GYMNASTICS SA RETURN TO SPORT GUIDELINES – PLEASE SEE BELOW TEMPORARY CHANGES.  

  • All sport is temporarily cancelled. This includes indoor, outdoor, contact and non-contact – training and competition (but does not include elite, professional or intra-school sports).
  • Gymnastics SA has taken advice from various Government departments (ORSR, SASI and Sport SA), along with our internal interpretation of the Directions notices, and consider that the intention of “elite” are those that are in Gymnastics Australia nominated National Teams (and hence are imminent likelihood of representing Australia in the coming year).
  • Density requirements have changed to 1 person per 4 square metres
  • These temporary changes are anticipated to be in place for 14 days.

These temporary changes are expected to be lifted on Tuesday, December 1 2020.

Update as at 14 August 2020 

Please see the updated directions here: https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/276777/EMA-Public-Activities-No-7-Direction.pdf

As sporting clubs are listed as operations that require a Marshal, please read the below summary.

 

COVID Marshal Requirements:

As of the 21 August 2020 a COVID Marshal must supervise prescribed operations.

“A Covid Marshal must complete training of a kind, determined by the Department” (State Government). We are awaiting more information from the State Government with specific training particulars including where to access, content covered and how long it may take to complete. Once more information is released we will communicate this with you.

 

A COVID Marshal must:
➡️ Be 18 years of age or more;

➡️Complete the required training and keep records of the training to provide to an authorised officer on request; and

➡️Take reasonable steps to visually identify as a COVID Marshal.

 

A COVID Marshal is required to:
➡️Promote and take practical steps to ensure infection control practices (e.g. frequent handwashing) are followed by people involved in the operations (patrons, employees and contractors);

➡️ Promote and take practical steps to ensure people participating in the operations are complying with density requirements, physical distancing principle;

➡️ Must ensure that all COVID Safe Plans and COVID Management Plans (where relevant) or specific polices/protocols in relation to the prevention of coronavirus are effectively implemented and monitored;

➡️ Ensure the environment is appropriately established and there is sufficient seating, hand washing facilities and cleaning regimes; and

➡️ Be present supervising prescribed operations at all times (except where the site operates for 24hrs where at all times means times of high patronage).

 

A COVID Marshal is required for the following operations:
➡️The onsite purchase and consumption of food or beverages (indoor and outdoor);

➡️Ceremonies;

➡️Supermarkets;

➡️Hardware stores;

➡️Distribution centres (including associated transport operations);

➡️Gymnasiums and fitness centres;

➡️Swimming pools used by the public;

➡️Social and sporting clubs;

➡️Any activity where a COVID Management Plan is required; and

➡️Any operation which may be defined by the state coordinator.

 

If more than 200 people are expected to be present at an operation a COVID Marshal who is supervising must have no other duties. You can have more than one prescribed COVID Marshal.

Where the place is used by different people it is the responsibility of the owner or person with care/control/management of the place to ensure that it is supervised by a COVID Marshal.

Changes to the Public Activities Directionwill come into effect from 00:01 Friday 14 August 2020 with a seven day transition period ending at 00:01 on Friday 21 August 2020. The above will be enforceable from 21 August 2020.

Our Gymnastics SA Rebooting Guidelines and Event Guidelines will be updated shortly to reflect the above information.

Update as of 26 June 2020

The major updates are that the previous density requirement for a maximum of 75 people per room at a 1 per 4 sq metre ratio will be updated on the 29th of June to:

Venue:

  • The maximum number of members of the public per room is not to exceed 1 person per 2 square metres of public space.
  • There is no venue capacity maximum, provided that the 1 person per 2m2 rule is adhered to.

Social Distancing:

  • Gymnastics, including KinderGym participants engaged in competitions, training or sessions, can be conducted as they normally would (in relation to proximity of participants) however, before and after sessions, wherever and whenever possible, the 1.5m physical distancing should be adhered to. As an example, acrobatic, partner and group activities are allowed. Spectators and those individuals not participating in the sporting activity are advised to maintain social distancing of 1.5 metres, both inside and outside the facility.

Please note there is no change to cleaning regimes at this point in time.

All other updates are stipulated within page 11 and 12.

Is my club ready to progress to progress to STEP 3?

  1. Determine if the club has already completed a SA Government COVID SAFE Plan. If the club does not intend to add additional (not previously declared) rooms for use, you will NOT need to fill in a COVID Plus Plan. You will receive an email from the state government with your new attendee allowance per room. It will take into consideration the 1 per 2 square metre rule. If you have not previously submitted a COVID SAFE plan to the state government, you WILL need to complete one.
  2. As a club, acknowledge you have read, understood and will abide by the Gymnastics South Australia Return To Sport Guidelines V5.
  3. Update your internal operational plans with your new room allowances and communicate this to staff and volunteers.
  4. Update members of the changes to your venue and sessions.
  5. Conduct sessions as of Monday June 29 with increased numbers as per your COVID Safe email from the State Government. This is conditional with the state directions order being updated.

Update as of 17 June

Roadmap to Recovery Step 2.5 (STEP 2 PLUS)


Step 2 PLUS - from Friday 19 June

  • This will be an interim step before we move to Stage 3 of the roadmap
  • The number of people allowable in a room (or a group outside) within a venue will increase from 20 up to to 75 providing 1 person per 4 square metres can be accommodated.  This will apply to training or competition groups.
  • The total number of people allowed in a venue will increase from 80 to 300 providing 1 person per 4 square metres can be accommodated. Again, this will apply to all people, indoor and outdoor who are gathered at a club.

 

Step 3 will commence on Monday 29 June

  • There will be no room or venue limit.  This will be replaced with only a density requirement of 1 person per 4 square metres.
  • More detail, information and updated Gymnastics SA Return to Sport Guidelines to be released in due course.

 

Is my club ready to progress to STEP 2 Plus on June 19?

  1. Determine if the club has already completed a SA Government COVID SAFE Plan. If the club does not intend to add additional (not previously declared) rooms for use, you will NOT need to fill in a COVID Plus Plan. You will receive an email from the state government with your new attendee allowance per room. It will be up to a maximum of 75 people; it will take into consideration the 1 per 4 square metre rule. If you have not previously submitted a COVID SAFE plan to the state government or you want to add on additional rooms for use, you WILL need to complete a COVID Safe PLUS plan.
  2. As a club, acknowledge you have read, understood and will abide by the Gymnastics South Australia Return To Sport Guidelines V4.
  3. Update your internal operational plans with your new room allowances and communicate this to staff and volunteers.
  4. Update members of the changes to your venue and sessions.
  5. Conduct sessions as of Friday June 19 with increased numbers as per your COVID Safe email from the State Government. This is conditional with the state directions order being updated.


Update as of 30 May 2020

Please see the directions order applicable from June 1 here : https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/emergency-declarations/public-activities  

As an indoor sport we are bound by the 20 per room stipulation, so long as the room is a suitable size to ensure 1 person per 4sq metres. 

Gymnastics South Australia have now published our Gymnastics South Australia Return To Sport Guidelines as applicable to South Australian mandates and directions. Many of you have been working through these as part of your Self Evaluation, you will note some minor tweaks to ensure our guidelines match the state directions. There are no major wholesale changes. Clubs must abide by these guidelines.

Is your club ready to Restart?

  1. As a club you have completed your SA Government COVID Safe Plan.
  2. As a club you have operational documentation or a “how to plan” that outlines how you are achieving the requirements. This is an important tool so staff are on the same page. Our Self Evaluation Tool can assist clubs in determining what and how they will achieve measures. A great template clubs may wish to use is found in the AIS Toolkit – COVID Safety Plan.
  3. As a club you have read, understood and adopted The Gymnastics South Australia Return to Sport Guidelines. Please note these will be subject to change as required and will be updated as we move into each new stage.
  4. As a club you have provided staff and volunteers with education, instruction, resources and support regarding your Club’s Restart Strategy.
  5. As a club you have all required hygiene equipment and signage ready to restart.
  6. As a club you have communicated to members the changes to training and venue stipulations.  


If you have met these requirement, please send us an email about when your club will be restarting. 

Update as of 27 May 2020

On Monday 25 May, the Premier announced that South Australia will now transition to Step 2 of the South Australian Roadmap for Easing COVID-19 Restrictions (the Roadmap) on 1 June 2020.

Please note that the directions order is scheduled to be updated within the next 48 hours. The following information is on the proviso that this occurs. The new directions order when published will supersede any other mandates released to date.

Confirmed update to time frames:

  • Indoor Non-contact sport training can commence from 1 June. This includes Gymnastics and KinderGym activities.
  • Training can commence as of the 1st of June once the online COVID Safe Plan has been completed.

 

The following items of interest are taken from the State Government COVID Safe Plan.

 

Indoor Specific Spacing Clarifications and Further Requirements:

  • A maximum of 20 members of the public per separate room or area applies regardless of the size of a room (Example: a room of 60 square metres can accommodate 15 people. A room of 80 square metres and a room of 200 square metres can both accommodate no more than 20 people).
  • To be considered a separate room, a space must be enclosed by a ceiling, and substantially enclosed by floor to ceiling walls, regardless of whether the ceiling or walls or any part of them are permanent or temporary.
  • Essential venue staff/coaching staff are not counted in the maximum 20 “members of the public” per eligible room. This clarification allows 20 participants to be allocated an appropriate number of coaches/leaders


New requirements/ suggestions not previously confirmed:

  • Consider limiting the duration of the activity to 2 hours or less where possible. Note: This is not a mandate but a state government suggestion.
  • Encourage and support downloading of COVID-Safe App. You may choose to achieve this by placing the SA Health COVID Safe App poster up in venue.
  • Ensure all staff have undertaken COVID-safe online training. This should also be extended to your key volunteer workforce.
  • Print and display SA Health COVID-Safe materials (such as signage/posters on hygiene, physical distancing) The link to the SA Health Posters is here:

 

 Updated process for clubs to recommence: 

  1. Individual Clubs to go to https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/recovery/create-a-covid-safe-plan and fill in the online form.

     

  2. Your completed form is your COVID Safe Plan. This Plan will outline how your staff and participants can be kept safe from COVID-19. The operational “nitty gritty” can easily be gathered from the bulk of work already undertaken by your club in completing the Club Self Evaluation Spreadsheet. The State Government COVID Safe Plan must be printed along with your Record of Completion. It must be available for presentation should your venue be inspected.

     

  3. You will get automated confirmation your plan has been accepted if you agree to all terms and conditions and can meet the requirements.

     

  4. We would encourage clubs to ensure they have detailed operational plans and confirmed actions to align with the COVID Safe Plan. Clubs that have previously completed the Self Evaluation Spreadsheet will have covered off most requirements. 

     

  5. Individual clubs are required to communicate all the changes in their venue/ club with their members.

     

  6. Individual Clubs are to communicate with Gymnastics SA via email if your club will be recommencing on June 1.

     

  7. Members are bound by adhering to any current or forth coming sport specific, including equipment cleaning requirements.


Response planning

Ensure you and your staff have a basic understanding of how to respond to a case of COVID-19 at the workplace.

A brief, step-by-step summary of actions to take is:

  1. Keep others away from the confirmed or suspected case. Talk to and assess the person concerned; if they need urgent medical help, call 000 immediately.

  2. If the person is at your premises when symptoms emerge, assess the situation and risks. Talk to the person about your concerns and next steps. Seek government health advice.

  3. If well enough, ask the person to go home, seek medical advice, testing for COVID-19, and self-quarantine until a result is returned. Ensure the person has safe transport to get home; if not, you may need to arrange for a taxi.

  4. Close the premises, ask all patrons and unnecessary staff to leave and arrange for a full environmental and disinfection clean. Open doors and windows to increase airflow.

  5. Notify SA Health via [email protected] to ensure they can trace any contacts of this person and contain the spread. SA Health may ask for any attendance records you may have kept assisting with this. 


Gymnastics SA encourages all Gymnastics Community Members to be patient as Clubs work through the above steps. If you have any questions please direct them to your Affiliated Club, however, please be assured your club will be communicating with you on how and when your children can return to training. Please note training recommencing will be different for each club due to several factors. 

Useful Links and Resources
South Australian Roadmap – FAQ

ORSR - COVID-19 Information

Gymnastics Australia – Factsheets
•           National Principles Education
•           Hygiene Education
•           Athlete Health and Safety
•           Preparation of Environment

Update as at 12 May 

What training can Gymnastics Clubs currently run?
Return to Sport for step 1 – South Australian Roadmap (Outdoor Training).

From 11 May 2020, we may provide outdoor “bootcamp style non-contact training.”

Training must: 
• Be outdoors
• Permit up to 10 participants in a group + 1 coach/instructor
• Be non-contact
• Multiple groups of 10 – Under Section 5(h) there may be multiple groups of up to 10 people participating in particular activities at the same venue provided that the density requirements is complied with and an appropriate distance is maintained between groups. For example, it is appropriate for a Soccer pitch sized space to be broken into three clearly marked zones ( with 10 in each zone) on one pitch.
 
Should:
• Minimise use of shared equipment and facilities. Participants to bring their own yoga mat/ hand held equipment if applicable.
• Participants bring personal hand sanitiser, drink bottle and come ready to participate.
• Limit the total numbers of additional people present, for example, up to 1 parent/carer per participant. As parents to observe session from car if applicable.
• Minimise unnecessary co-mingling.
• Implement signage/markings to support compliance with current restrictions and advice.
• Refer to the Australian Institute of Sport’s Framework for Rebooting Sport for further guidance.
• All gymnasts, coaches, officials, and parents must meet current guidelines.This should be reiterated to participants and personnel. People should not attend if in the previous 14 days they; 
• Have been unwell or had any flu-like symptoms
• Been in contact with a known or suspected case of COVID-19
• Any respiratory symptoms
• Are at a high risk from a health perspective, including the elderly and those with any pre-exiting health conditions
• If any gymnast or coach attend with any symptoms they will be removed from training. Gymnast parents will be contacted and asked to collect their child.
• Training should focus on strength and conditioning and basic skill training (At present no aerial work is allowed. One foot or hand must always remain on the ground).
• Coaches to work within their competency level.
• All coaches are required to have current Technical Memberships.
• All athletes are required to be registered on the National Database.


Rebooting Gymnastics Proposal and Plan
Gymnastics South Australia is working closely with Sport SA and Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing (ORSR) on the principles for Indoor gymnastics to resume. 
Gymnastics SA will submit a proposal to gain permission for our clubs to restart indoor training, within these guidelines. We anticipate this plan to be ready and reviewed prior to 8 June.

Gymnastics South Australia is communicating with Gymnastics Australia, Acromat and Sam Offord (Physio) to assist with compiling our proposal and working on a template for Member Clubs.
 
1. Gymnastics SA is busy compiling a plan and template to address the guideline stipulations.
2. This will be filled in by Gymnastics SA outlining how our clubs could practically meet the guidelines. This will involve discussions with equipment suppliers on meeting the COVID -19 standards. This will also involve any recommendation regarding the suitability of equipment or required coverings.
3. ORSR will assess the practicality of our recommendations against the criteria. They will also liaise with SA Health.
4. We will then contact clubs with the suggestions and systems to meet the criteria. Clubs will review their individual ability to meet these. We will work with clubs to see if we can workshop suggestions for modification or adaptations to assist compliance.
5. We can then report back to ORSR all the clubs that will presently be able to meet the principles and guidelines.
6. ORSR has the final approval and we will await their feedback and response prior to recommencing.
7. Activity is not to resume until information is reviewed and endorsed by ORSR. Gymnastics SA will then communicate with clubs on when, where and how we can all move forward.

Step 2 restriction on the South Australian Roadmap are set to commence on 8 June 2020, please note training cannot resume on this day if endorsement has not been received by ORSR. 


Supporting our clubs through this transition
Gymnastics SA will be hosting Zoom sessions weekly and for the foreseeable future, for clubs to ask questions, provide feedback and receive updates on where the process is at.
 
The days and times are below:
• Thursday, 7:00pm - register HERE
• Saturday, 9:00am - register HERE
Repeated weekly
 
To assist with delivery of sessions, we kindly ask that we receive your RSVP at least the day prior. 


Useful Links and Resources
Sports – Step 1 Fact Sheet 

ORSR - COVID-19 Information 

Gymnastics Australia – Factsheets
• National Principles Education
• Hygiene Education
• Athlete Health and Safety
• Preparation of Environment
 

Update as at 8 May 2020 

The South Australian Government has released SA's Roadmap for Easing COVID-19 Restrictions. VIEW HERE

Our State Premier, Steven Marshall has announced today that as of Monday, 11 May 2020, South Australia will be moving into Step 1 of easing restrictions in our state. Premier Marshall stated that "You can all be proud of how we have led the nation in our response. Now we must stay the course and continue working together to keep SA safe and strong."

Step 2 of easing restrictions scheduled for the 8th of June 2020 sees the opportunity for Gymnastics in South Australia to restart. Gymnastics SA’s restarting plan will be presented on behalf of our members and must meet national and state guidelines. We will utilise all national and state resources to ensure we can collaboratively achieve this. Once submitted, our restarting plan will need to be approved by Office of Recreation, Sport and Racing to ensure all standards are met prior to the recommencement of Gymnastics activities.

Gymnastics SA’s CEO, Nastashia Buck is additionally invited to a meeting today with Minister Corey Wingard today for further state-based sport information. 

Gymnastics SA are working collaboratively with Gymnastics Australia and all states and territories to ensure that our members will receive consistent advice on the cleaning, distancing and general hygiene practises moving forward. We will continue to advocate for our sport at a state level, and we will keep you informed of all decisions.  

Gymnastics SA would like to thank all members and clubs who attended our first successful Zoom Meeting last night, with the next meeting to occur tomorrow morning, Saturday, 9 May at 9.00AM. To book in and be a part of this zoom session here, please click HERE.

When the time is right, when we know it is safe, and when we have planned accordingly – we will all be able to enjoy gymnastics in our clubs once again.

 

Rebooting Gymnastics in SA - Zoom Meetings 
Please RSVP to attend the Zoom Meetings HERE. 

Zoom Meetings Available; 

  • Saturday, 9 May - 9.00 AM

  • Thursday, 14 May - 7.00 PM

  • Saturday, 16 May - 9:00 AM