Baseball Queensland (BQ) today confirmed the development of draft ‘Return to Activity’ guidelines to enable the ongoing preparations for the return to baseball activity.
As the landscape continues to evolve across the States and Territories and BQ’s management team, in collaboration with Baseball Australia (BA), is working through the National Principles for the Resumption of Sport and Recreation Activities. These principles set the precedent for the eventual return to community sports.
In order to safely return to activity, we must adhere to these principles along with the AIS Framework for Rebooting Sport in a COVID-19 Environment. This framework is currently in a draft state and these principles will be approved in part or full by the Federal Government and then enacted by the States and Territories with additional requirements.
“Our intent is the ensure the health and wellbeing of our baseball members and the wider community of Queensland,” BQ Chief Executive Officer Paul Gonzalez said.
“An exact date for any recommencement is subject to Government instruction. We understand that the QLD Government intends to create framework for community sports like baseball to return as they believe it is critical to the wellbeing and health of Queenslanders.
“BQ aims to be ready to return to activity when restrictions have been lifted. Everyone has played an integral part in stopping the spread of COVID-19, and we look forward to getting back to field to enjoy the greatest game of all.”
“A possible return to activity in the coming weeks would constitute small training groups of no more than ten (10) people including coaches and staff. All baseball activity will need to follow social distancing guidelines outlined by BQ and the Queensland government. We will have more details on this timeline and the requirements for returning to activity soon and we will provide updates accordingly.”
Mr Gonzalez confirmed that BQ would continue working hard to ensure that the return to activity will be done in the safest way possible.
“We continue to collaborate with Baseball Australia, government authorities and our regions and clubs to ensure we have safe guidelines for a return to activity.
“We are committed to implementing policies for our return to activity and eventual return to play that are satisfactory for all parties involved. We will continue to monitor the advice from authorities and make and any all adjustments as required to ensure our Return to Activity strategy is as effective as possible,” Mr Gonzales said.
BQ has been building its Return to Activity Strategy with key aspects to support its’ members. The following resources will be made available during the coming months:
- Return to Throw Program: preparing players to return to baseball activity.
- Body Ready: video resources from our HP manager Shayne Watson, encouraging our athletes to keep healthy and in shape.
- Promoting the Baseball Australia National Coaching Accreditation
- Healthy Clubs Initiative: BQ has been creating resources to assist clubs in the effort to remain healthy, with the intent to grow our clubs post COVID-19.
The COVIDSafe app is now available and will allow authorities to quickly track and control the spread of COVID-19. Please consider downloading the app to help save lives, protect the community and get baseball back as soon as possible. Click HERE to learn more.
For up-to-date information on keeping your family safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit the Queensland Health website HERE.
All further updates from Baseball Queensland will be available on the BQ website and will also be communicated by the BQ social media channels.