Poole Athletic Club update June 2020 – COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Club Update (8th June 2020)

The Committee and coaches of Poole AC have noted with interest both the Government’s recent relaxation of lockdown rules, and in particular the guidance issued by England Athletics on 1 June as to what clubs are now permitted to do.

In respect of the road running side of the club, a process has been started to investigate what, if anything, is possible to be organised in relation to formal coaching sessions. This investigation will take into account the opinions of runners themselves, the availability of our volunteer coaches, and most importantly the safety and health of all who might be involved. It is anticipated that this review will take several weeks to complete and once a decision has been reached it will be communicated to members as soon as possible.

On a similar note, the Track and Field side of the club is also reviewing what options may be possible for training once facilities are again available to the club. Some Qualified Track & Field Coaches are already organising ad-hoc sessions strictly within the guidelines laid down by England Athletics, ensuring robust individual risk assessments are raised based on the venues being used.

As mentioned above, the most important thing to us is the health and wellbeing of our members, and whilst we are heartened by the efforts that many people have made to maintain their running during this pandemic, and know that lots of members are eager to get back to how things used to be, we have no wish to rush into anything that could have a negative effect on either health or the reputation of the club. Please be assured that we will carefully consider all aspects of the current position before we choose what to do.

Stay safe everyone,
Kind regards
The Poole AC Committee

Club Statement (April 2020)

Following the announcement by the government to limit social contact with each other, we have been discussing at length how best to proceed with club sessions moving forward.

On 24th March, England Athletics announced that all clubs should suspend club meetings until at least the end of May. On 29th April, England Athletics announced that suspension of athletics competition is extended to 30 June 2020 and they will continue to review the wider suspension of all other athletics activity outside of competition.

Therefore please note:

  • Track sessions for junior and seniors – cancelled
  • Road running – cancelled

We appreciate how important exercise is for the physical and the mental wellbeing for our running community. We would therefore like to remind all athletes of the social distancing guidelines as outlined on the government’s website >> and to adhere to them.

England Athletics are regularly updating their dedicated page here>> and you can keep up to date with the government’s advice here>>

Because many events this summer continue to be cancelled, the Senior Committee have decided that the usual club championships cannot take place this year. Instead there will be a series of virtual 5k races that individuals can complete in their own time, adhering to all the social distancing guidelines. More information can be found here>>>

Please check our events calendar which we are trying to keep updated with the latest status of Junior and Senior events.