England Touch moving to Stage 4 and inter-club competition

England Touch can confirm that based on feedback during August and the already agreed action plans for Touch activity, we can now move to the next phase of our Return to Play – Stage 4: LOCAL. This will enable inter-club competition and is effective from Saturday, September 5th, 2020.

In Stage 4: LOCAL, club activity should be restricted to no more than four clubs and should minimise travel across areas. Activity should also ensure that no more than 30 participants are on any one field of play at the same time. This includes any coaches and match officials. Where clubs play more than one fixture during a day or evening, additional plans should be put in place to ensure social distancing can be maintained when not on the field of play.

Clubs, leagues and other operators who intend to move to Stage 4 should ensure they review their risk assessments and other operational plans prior to doing so.

All England Touch members are also reminded to review their plans against any local lockdowns or restrictions and if in doubt, we recommend pausing activity until further clarity can be obtained.

CEO Chris Simon welcomed the news and the prospect of some autumn competition.

“This is great for the sport of Touch and provides us with an opportunity to deliver some form of competition over the next few weeks and months,” he said. “While national events are not yet set to return, we are keen to see how we can bring clubs together, enabling a competitive league structure to be played at a local and then regional level.

“We have been developing our thoughts, but are keen to hear what our member clubs, leagues and regions think. We’ll be distributing an expression of interest form in the next few days and would be delighted to get some feedback prior to confirming plans.”

For the latest relevant information and other reminders head to www.englandtouch.org.uk/coronavirus

If you have any thoughts and comments about potential regional leagues then send them to us via the Get in Touch form on this website!