Member Update 3

Dear Member Clubs,

This is an update on the email circulated on 15 May and again, I hope it helps, it is not boxing specific but a general statement on the current situation taken from the Welsh Assembly Government website.

With the Prime Minister recommending changes to easing at the weekend, the position in Wales is unchanged. The First Minister will be reviewing the guidelines this Friday and there may be some minor alterations but we wait and see.

Those sports that are currently permitted as long as you follow the guidelines and the facility/beach is open are:

  • Angling

  • Cycling

  • Golf

  • Horse-riding

  • Lawn bowls

  • Open water swimming

  • Watersports

I will keep you informed of the position on re-opening boxing clubs when we know more.

Summary

The summary of the position on going out to exercise in Wales during the coronavirus “lockdown” is as follows:

  • going out to exercise is a valid reason to leave home and is encouraged;

  • exercise can be combined with other – incidental – activity that is beneficial to people’s health and well-being;

  • exercise should be local, involve minimal risk and be done in accordance with advice on social distancing;

  • travelling by vehicle to exercise should be avoided unless there is a good reason for doing so.

Introduction

1. The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) Regulations 2020 impose temporary restrictions on gatherings and movement of people in Wales. This has been done as a result of the public health emergency caused by the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

2. The main purpose of the regulations is to minimise the extent to which people come into contact during the emergency period to help contain coronavirus. Unnecessary and unjustifiable journeys are prohibited to help reduce the risk of the virus spreading further and imposing additional burdens on health services. The overarching aim is that people should stay at home as much as possible.

3. However, exercising outdoors is an important exception to this rule and is encouraged due to the beneficial effect it has on health and wellbeing. 

Exercise as a “reasonable excuse” to leave home

 4. The basic legal requirement, found in Regulation 8(1), is that you should not leave home (the place where you live) without a “reasonable excuse” for doing so. Regulation 8(2) then goes on to provide a list of examples of the kinds of things that would be a reasonable excuse.

5. The need for the excuse to be “reasonable” sets an objective standard to test whether you should leave home. It represents the difference between a subjective test, which is based solely on what any one particular person thinks, and an objective test, which is based on what other ordinary people in a similar position to that person would think.

6. It is important to understand also that the list in paragraph (2) of regulation 8 provides only examples of what may be a reasonable excuse. This list is not intended, therefore, to include all possible reasonable excuses for leaving home.

7. Unlike the case in some other countries that have imposed similar “lockdown” restrictions, the Welsh Government is of the view that exercising outside should be allowed – and encouraged – for health and wellbeing reasons. The reasonable excuses for leaving the home listed do, therefore, include (at sub-paragraph (b)) the need to exercise. Exercise outside the home is allowed and the number of times anybody goes out to exercise is not limited.

Social distancing and staying local

8. The purpose of the restrictions imposed by the Regulations is to help contain the spread of coronavirus and to reduce the burden on the Welsh NHS. As a result, the exception that allows people to go out to exercise is subject to the need to do so alone or with other members of the household (or with carers as appropriate), and the requirement not to congregate in public places (Regulation 8(5)).

9. To reduce the risk of spread of coronavirus exercise must also be done within an area local to home. Exercise should not, therefore, involve going a significant distance from home and our advice is that exercise should start and finish from home.   

10. In addition, general advice on practicing good hygiene and social distancing should be followed. Maintaining a distance of at least 2 metres from other people is crucial, and for this purpose people should avoid exercising in places they are aware can be busy (be they busy paths, parks or other places).

11. The form of exercise is not specified in the regulations, but in practice this is constrained by other restrictions that have been imposed. The relevant restrictions are the closure of indoor leisure facilities such as swimming pools, closure of certain footpaths and land in the countryside and the overarching prohibition (which derives from regulation 8) on unnecessary travel. As one of the purposes of the restrictions is to reduce pressure on the Welsh NHS, our advice is that people should not undertake forms of exercise that involve a significant degree of risk.

12. Social distancing and staying local will reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus or putting further strain on the Welsh NHS.

Travelling by vehicle before exercising

13. The intention is that exercise should be undertaken locally – as close as possible to the home.  In general this should not involve people driving to a location away from home for this purpose.  No journeys of any significant distance should be taken, for example, just in order to exercise in the countryside or at beauty spots (many of which are closed in any event to prevent this).

14. People with specific health or mobility issues may, however, need to travel from their home in order to be able to exercise.  For example, some wheelchair users may not be able to start to exercise immediately outside their homes for practical access reasons, and may need to drive to a suitable flat location, such as a park, for this purpose.  In these circumstances the journey should be to the nearest convenient accessible location and no long journeys should be undertaken unless absolutely necessary. 

Doing other things while exercising

15. Although the main purpose of leaving home should be to exercise, activity incidental to that which is good for people’s health or wellbeing is also considered to be reasonable. Going for a walk and also stopping to have something to eat or sit in a park, for example, is intended to be permitted. Most of the time away from home should, however, be spent exercising.

16. Any “incidental” activity of this sort done while out exercising is again subject to the requirement not to congregate with others, and the advice on social distancing should also be followed.

17. Combining more than one outdoor activity that is reasonable, especially if this reduces the time spent away from home, is also encouraged. This may for example involve combining exercise with walking a dog or going to a shop to buy food.

Cycling

18. Cycling is a very effective form of exercise, and is also a healthy and environmentally friendly way of going to work. Cycling is generally a low-risk activity but with emergency services under pressure, it is important to take steps to manage risk wherever possible. An accident or a breakdown far from home would place additional strain on health services or require a further journey to be made by someone else to provide assistance.

19. People are expected to only cycle on routes they know well, and that are well within their ability level. Cyclists on shared paths should be considerate of walkers, runners and other people cycling: they should stay two metres from others, slow their pace and stop to let people pass as appropriate.

20. Cycling to work, or for work, is also considered to be a reasonable excuse to be outside (so long as going to work, or doing the work, is itself justifiable).

Regards,

Colin Metson

General Manager

Amy Garrett