COVID-19 Update #4

Posted May 03, 2020
IHNZ News

As Mike Tyson said, “everyone has a plan until punched in the face” well, Covid 19 has been the metaphorical punch in the face but, out of adversity comes opportunity, so let’s take this time to create opportunities for inline hockey and our members out of this.

SportNZ:
Sport NZ has announced a $25 million package to provide further short-term relief for organisations at all levels of sport and active recreation. The funds have been made available through savings achieved from the reprioritisation of Sport NZ’s work programme in the wake of COVID-19, as well as the drawing down on cash reserves.

Today’s announcement follows an initial package of support for Sport NZ and High Performance Sport NZ partners announced in early April. This provided financial certainty for national sport and recreation organisations, regional sport trusts and others, with funding commitments totalling $70 million per annum. Partners were provided with flexibility on how these funds could be used to reflect the challenging circumstances resulting from COVID-19 through until 30 June 2021.

The second tranche of support announced today has a focus on providing relief for struggling local and regional sport and recreation organisations. This relief will be provided via a $15 million Community Resilience Fund.

The Sport NZ Community Resilience Fund opens on Monday 11 May and will be administered through New Zealand’s 14 regional sports trusts. Eligible organisations can apply for a maximum of $1,000 for clubs and $40,000 for regional bodies.

Also included in Sport NZ’s $25 million relief package are:

• A partner support fund ($6 million) to help Sport NZ and High Performance Sport NZ investment partners maintain critical roles and business functions which are at risk due to COVID-19
• An exceptional system support fund ($1 million) to protect key national organisations who are not normal recipients of Sport NZ investment
• A physical activity fund ($3 million) to promote play, active recreation and sport opportunities to those who most need it (e.g. people who are less active, disabled or live in high deprivation areas)

Further details on these three funds will be announced over the coming weeks.

More information on the new $25 million short-term relief package and Sport NZ’s wider response to COVID-19 is available on the Sport NZ website.
https://sportnz.org.nz/covid-19/sector-support-package/?mc_cid=7f063e3af0&mc_eid=347c797b50

Any help needed to prepare applications please let IHNZ know.

Preparing for Alert Level 2:
Cabinet is reviewing whether we are ready to move to Alert Level 2 on Monday 11 May. Until then, we remain at Alert Level 3.

Alert Level 2 is not life as normal, some restrictions and other measures remain in place. Physical distancing, hygiene standards and contact registers will make businesses safe. At Alert Level 2, you can leave home to do more things, but you should follow public health measures and consider others around you.

You can attend gatherings of no more than 100 people, like weddings, funerals, family events, concerts, religious services and public meetings, provided public health measures (see conditions below) can be maintained.

All gatherings outside of the home (indoors and outdoors) can have no more than 100 attendees.

Public venues
Many public venues, such as museums, food courts and markets, will be open again at Alert Level 2. However, there will be restrictions in place including the requirement to keep groups of attendees 1 metre apart. This might require limiting the number of people inside at once. Some venues may stay shut if they can’t open safely.

Exercise, sport and recreation
You can do your usual exercise, sport and recreation activities, provided you can do them safely. This includes activities that were restricted previously, including:

• walking, biking and hunting on public conservation land
• swimming at a public swimming pool, but there will be restrictions
• going to the gym, but there will be restrictions
• boating and motorised watersports
• hunting during duck shooting season

You can play sports that involve close contact, but only if good contact tracing is maintained for training and games. Make sure you know who you’re training and playing with, in case someone gets sick. No one should train or play if they have symptoms of COVID-19.

For sports where it is possible to maintain physical distancing, such as tennis, you should try your best to keep 2 metres from other people.

IHNZ will publish a further statement in regards to playing hockey and club obligations at Level 2 once the government announcement has been made 11 May.

Funding:
Class 4 operations are anticipating being able to start up again under Alert Level 2, albeit with reduced capacity given the need for physical distancing. If this is the case, funding should become available again from July but at reduced levels given reduced capacity.

Sport Season Transition:
The issue of how the sport sector will manage the transition from a shortened winter season into the 2020-21 summer season has been identified as requiring urgent attention. Over the next month Sport NZ, in consultation with NSOs and other key partners, will develop these national guidelines for 2020 season transition. These will be made available to regional organisations to assist them in determining the best solution for each region.

The national guidelines will be based on the Balance is Better principles previously adopted by the sector where the well-being and best interests of the participant are put first and foremost in all decision making.

Contact Tracing Apps/Templates:
Contact Tracing is the identification of individuals that have come into contact with people who have been diagnosed with Covid-19, and it is a fundamental precaution taken against the spread of the virus in the community.
The two options for contact tracing have been sent to all clubs.
Any further information you may need please let us know.

Contact App and Scanner:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KywnGRzAd5DI47eujoeXfqIRt2LEKtuu/view?usp=sharing

Contact Tracing Template:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/17Ivho-NS3NIY02_sWpzdEDrNtfStfOCK/view?usp=sharing

Interactive Sessions:
These are continuing on a Monday and Wednesday and have been well received to date - we encourage you to join in from the link on either Facebook or your Club site for the times.

Note the timings have changed to the evenings due to Tara returning to work.

Communication:
We will continue to update all clubs and members as information comes to hand and encourage you to email any questions or queries to gm@inlinehockeynz.org.nz. We will endeavor to answer these as quickly as possible.

Rest assured we are doing everything possible to work toward the goal of endeavouring to have hockey to play in the foreseeable future.

Stay safe all,
Regards
IHNZ Board