For many, many weeks we have sat at home and contemplated the day that we could return to Walton Bridge to restart our season. Today we are pleased to advise that we begin that process this week.
Following the approval of the Football Queensland COVID-Safe plan, we can now have multiple groups of 20 training at the same time. We are busy finalising a revised training plan to give all club members training opportunities, which shall be issued later this week. Our target is to bring a staggered return to football at TGFC, starting with high-performance teams, with an aim to a full return of all teams in the week commencing Monday 22nd of June.
This past weekend we have been working through the COVID restrictions with our NPLW teams in training sessions to work out how football will work day-to-day in our training programme. Thanks to all of those who have assisted to date, which has enabled us to get closer to finalising plans and systems to get players back on the field whilst maintaining social distancing and working within guidelines.
There will be a much more extensive guide on back to football at TGFC issued later in the week, and we will be trialling our systems with our older age groups and open men’s and women’s programmes, with start dates to be advised to coaches and managers this week. Team coaches and managers will be advised further details this week to ensure as smooth a return as possible, and we appreciate all members assistance as we work through teething issues. Please note the training plan that will be issued is for Stage 2 only and will be revised for Stage 3.
An important aspect of our return to football will be a significant reconfiguration of the car park area to allow for multiple drop-off and pick-up zones. Parking will be fully restricted to coaches and volunteers until 7:30 pm when seniors training commences to enable effective traffic flow through the club. If you wish to park off-site and walk to the club, this may be permissible with strict social distancing in place.
Team managers will be contacted by the end of the week with a view to creating a team of volunteers to help manage tasks around the club during the restart. We need your help to make this successful!
We are in the process of arranging signage, hand sanitiser, field markings, scheduling, traffic plans, and general communications to bring you back to the club as soon as possible. We know so many of you have been eagerly awaiting the return of the game you love, so get those boots ready to go!
Thank you to all of our members for your patience and thoughts over the last two months. We cannot do this without you, so thank you again to all of the people who make The Gap Football Club a great place to play and be a part of.