Return to Playing and Training after Covid

Dear South Hobart FC Families,

Please see below very IMPORTANT information regarding post Covid training and playing.

Our thanks to Doctor Nick Cooling and Physiotherapist Matt Lancaster for their input in keeping our club and community as safe as possible.

SOUTH HOBART FC POLICY
RETURNING TO TRAINING AND PLAYING AFTER COVID

The increase in community transmission of COVID-19 in Tasmania, together with our player age demographic and training athletes engaging in high intensity exercise, means we will have a significant number of positive cases within the club. The health and well being of all our players and coaches is our priority. During the current phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in Tasmania the aim is for players and coaching staff to stay safe while staying together, the so-called Covid Paradox (Staley et al 2021).

The most important action all players can do to reduce the impact of a Covid-19 infection is to be effectively vaccinated against Covid-16. This includes 2 primary doses and an early booster (currently 4 months from the 2nd injection).

For the safety of other players and the club in general, any player with any respiratory symptoms or fatigue, no matter how mild, should not attend training or club events, and be immediately tested for Covid-19.

If you do become infected with Covid-19, return to playing needs to be a carefully managed process. While both players and coaches are keen for early resumption of training, and play, there is a need to: a) protect the health of players as they recover from illness, and b) prevent the spread to others in our club. To mitigate these risks the Return to Training Guidelines, below, should be followed for all junior, youth and senior players who become infected with COVID-19.

Return to Training Guidelines:
1. Follow the Tasmanian Government directives about what to do if you are a positive case and isolate at home for a minimum of 7 days.

2. Let your coach know that you have tested positive for Covid-19. This will be treated confidentially. Knowing that you have a Covid-19 illness will assist your coaches, and health professional staff, to plan your optimal return to training and play.

3. Before returning to training, all players must satisfy the following criteria:

• Have rested for 10 days since the onset of their symptoms

• Been symptom free for 7 days

• Be off all treatment (eg paracetamol)

• Be able to walk 500 metres without any shortness of breath

Your coach or club health professional may also ask the following questions before you resume training:

From McKinney et al 2021

4. Additionally, players who have experienced severe symptoms, or have new symptoms (Table 3 above) or been under the care of a doctor should consult their doctor before returning to training.

5. Players should return to training gradually (eg 30 minutes for first session, 45 minutes for second session etc) and aim to start comfortably and increase intensity of training over time. As a guide it should take most players about three weeks from the time of their positive test to return to full training and playing, but individual players (and parents) should monitor recovery from training sessions and modify appropriately. Our health professional staff are also able to advise, especially if return to training is taking longer than expected (eg more than 14 days) or new symptoms are developing. The following table from the UK (Elliott et al 2020) is a useful guide to return to training.

Appendix

The COVID Paradox

The results of a survey of community based sport in Victorian study by Staley et al 2021 highlighted a COVID-19 paradox, where participants’ perceived challenges to returning to sport coalesce around the competing ideas of staying safe while staying together. In a COVID-19 world where physical distancing is encouraged and often required to stay safe, coming together to meaningfully participate in sport and maximise the social benefits of sport is contradictory.

References

Elliott, N., Martin, R., Heron, N., Elliott, J., Grimstead, D., & Biswas, A. (2020). Infographic. Graduated return to play guidance following COVID-19 infection. British journal of sports medicine, 54(19), 1174-1175.

McKinney, J., Connelly, K. A., Dorian, P., Fournier, A., Goodman, J. M., Grubic, N., ... & Johri, A. M. (2021). COVID-19–myocarditis and return to play: Reflections and recommendations from a Canadian working group. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 37(, 1165-1174.

Staley, K., Seal, E., Donaldson, A., Randle, E., Forsdike, K., Burnett, D., ... & Nicholson, M. (2021). Staying safe while staying together: the COVID‐19 paradox for participants returning to community‐based sport in Victoria, Australia. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 45(6), 608-615.

Vasiliadis, A. V., & Boka, V. (2021). Safe Return to Exercise after COVID-19 Infection. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 21(3), 373.