Return to Sport & Physical Activity

This support page details information and guidance for making the transition from lockdown to returning to sport and physical activity. In all cases, please check the rules and guidance for resuming delivery with the Government's guidance and your NGB.

If you are affiliated to an NGB, we recommend visiting their website in the first instance. Find your NGB here.

Training and development opportunities to support your return to play

Government guidance on the re-opening of outdoor facilities for sports and physical activity

Grassroots sports inc. team sport, contact combat sport and organised sport events

Elite sports

Providers of grassroots and sports facilities

Multi-purpose community facilities

Wraparound provision and extracurricular activity

Holiday, after-school clubs and out-of-school settings

Further education

Accessing green spaces

Playgrounds and outdoor gyms

Sport England: COVID-19 & Returning to Play

Sport England are committed to supporting the sport and physical activity sector and helping people to stay active during these challenging times:
- Sport England: Coronavirus

For help answering some of the key questions people in the sport and physical activity sector will have as it eases some of its restrictions.
- Sport England: what happens next?

See guidance on a range of topics to help you plan for the return to play (sport and physical activity):
- Sport England: Return to play

- Return to play: guidance hub

For guidance on hygiene for sport and physical activity and some excellent resources you can use such as social media graphics, infographics and posters:
- Hygiene for Sport and Physical Activity

Club Matters: Restarting Sport and Physical Activity Toolkit

Club Matters have prepared a a suite of resources to support clubs and organisations to get back to activity. This covers:

Re-opening toolkit for Clubs and Organisations
Re-imagining your Offer
Creating a Risk Register for Clubs and Organisations
Creating a Risk Assessment
Social Distancing tips for Community Clubs and Organisations
Club Matters Guide to Understanding your people
Understanding the legal and insurance implications of returning to activity
Ensuring you have an accessible and inclusive environment

Restarting Sport and Physical Activity

EMD UK: Instructor Ready Self-Assessment

The Instructor Ready standard mark is a self-assessment scheme that has been designed by EMD UK to provide a level of 'confidence' for all group exercise instructors in the fitness industry.

The scheme also provides reassurance to venues that instructors have clear processes in place and are following industry and Government COVID-19 guidance on cleanliness and social distancing.

As an instructor, you can confirm that you have taken the necessary measures and are operating in line with Government guidelines, Public Health guidance , and EDM UK's own Roadmap to Group Ex guidance which was signed off by Sport England and DCMS.

You can access the scheme on EMD UK's website here.

UK Coaching: Return to Coaching

UK Coaching have published some fantastic resources and guidance for coaches to use and consider when returning to coaching in the new normal of social-distancing.

Activity Alliance: Reopening Activity

As more opportunities to be active resume, new guidance will help providers to enable welcoming, and more accessible environments.

Activity Alliance has published Reopening Activity: An inclusive response, in consultation with partners across sport, leisure and disability equality. The national charity wants providers to consider the guidance as part of their ongoing commitment to disabled people's inclusion.

Reopening Activity

EMD UK: Resources for group exercise professionals

Working with The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and Sport England, EMD UK have developed a free support pack for group exercise professionals covering covid safe venue operation, checklist, diagrams for socially distanced studio space and virtual resources.

More Information:: https://emduk.org/group-ex-support-pack/

Reopening Guidance

CIMSPA (The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity) have put together, along with other sector partners, the ReOpen guidance for planning for the safe reopening of sport and physical activity sector facilities. You can access this guidance here.

The above guidance should be used in conjunction with the ukactive recommended framework for reopening the fitness and leisure sector safely. This framework can be accessed here.

Chelsea Piggott

Youth and Workforce Officer

Chelsea is the Strategic Lead for Workforce and Crime Prevention at Get Berkshire Active. She is responsible for supporting coaches, volunteers, clubs and communities to deliver quality opportunities for people in Berkshire to get active. She oversees funding programmes for children and young people across all local authorities and is involved in creating opportunities to use sport and physical activity to support people at risk of or involved in criminality. Having completed a Degree and Masters at the University of Gloucestershire, she took up a role in Sports Development at a Local Authority supporting disability physical activity programmes before joining GBA. Alongside this, she is completing a part-time PhD at Loughborough Uni researching the effects of life skills developed through physical activity and sport programmes and their impact on youth delinquency. She draws on her personal experience of what interventions and funded programmes can do for young people and hopes to continue to pass this on to future generations. Outside of work she enjoys walking her two dogs and has a passion for powerlifting.