Return to water - update
An update on a return to training and competition including indicative dates and useful documents.
Return to water
On 25 June the Executive approved an indicative timeframe for a return to outdoor training, including contact elements from 29 June, in advance of competitive sport resuming on 17 July. The indicative date for leisure centres opening is 17 August however we do not have any confirmation regarding when Belfast City Council pools will open.
Prior to pools reopening, Swim Ireland have provided clubs with a Water Polo Framework. We will receive further information and resources in the coming weeks to assist us, and we will work through these with our coaches and pool facilities in order to be ready when pools re-open.
Mitigating the risk of Covid-19
The current HSE advice in relation to the impact of COVID-19 in chlorinated environments states that ‘adherence to current recommended disinfection practice is sufficient to inactivate COVID-19 virus in chlorinated drinking water and swimming pools’.
We are confident that if we follow Swim Ireland’s Water Polo Framework, which is in line with public health guidelines, it will be a safe and smooth transition for our members to return to the pool. We will be appointing a COVID-19 Officer to ensure that the requirements within the Water Polo Framework are met.
It is important to note that it is not possible to eliminate the risk of the spread of COVID-19 completely and, while we will work to minimise risk, this concept must be fully understood and accepted by our members and the parents of our members who are minors.
What will training look like?
We will be working with our pool provider to support them in developing protocols for our members. In the first instance, it’s likely that this will not be a return to normal or regular club activities, but it is our aim to provide suitable training opportunities for all of our membership.
As a club, we are required to follow Swim Ireland requirements for reopening. They are adopting a conservative and measured approach to a re-start but hope that things will evolve quickly. At present, this means that all club members must sign a waiver prior to returning and every individual must complete the health screening form prior to all sessions (pool, sea or land based).
Further information on resuming full contact training will be released in the coming weeks and information on the National Leagues and Cups will be released following the 20th July.
Member survey
In order to prepare the squad structures for the return to training, could we ask each family to complete the short survey (access survey here) to understand what your current thoughts are. If you have already completed this and your thoughts have not changed, there is no need to complete it again; however if you have not completed it, or you are thinking differently, we would like to hear from you.
Documents
Update to members - May 2020
Cú Chulainn AGM; Return to Water Roadmap; National Water Polo Conference; 2019/20 season
Cú Chulainn Annual General Meeting
The 2020 Cú Chulainn Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 9 June at 7.00pm.
The AGM will be conducted via zoom. All members will receive an invite via email with the relevant documentation attached on Tuesday 19 May.
If you do not receive an email invite, please contact a club officer or contact the secretary directly.
Return to Water Roadmap
Swim Ireland have published a ‘Return to Water Roadmap’. This document takes account of the ‘roadmaps’ published by the governments in Ireland.
The Swim Ireland Roadmap aims to support clubs and members to return to the water in a safe and timely manner and includes details of what may happen for each aquatic discipline at each phase. It will be supported by framework documents, which will provide greater detail and clarity, when possible.
The club will use the Swim Ireland Roadmap and any relevant framework documents as planning tools, but we are mindful that Swim Ireland describe the document as a “first draft” and draw attention to the “fluid and continuously evolving situation”. Significantly, while the Swim Ireland Roadmap provides dates, no dates have been provided in the roadmap published by the NI Executive.
We will update members with any changes to the Swim Ireland Roadmap when they occur.
National Water Polo Conference
The National Water Polo Conference took place on Saturday 16 May via webinar. The National Water Polo Committee proposed a range of motions relating to league structure, tournament rules, player eligibility, discipline, and complaints. 2 delegates participated on behalf of Cú Chulainn and voted on each of motions.
All the motions secured the required number of votes and were passed. A summary of the motions relating to leagues and cup competitions is below. We will share a link to the updated rulebook when it is published.
League Competitions
A new League structure is proposed for all levels which restructures the men’s leagues as two Divisions with 8 teams/clubs in Division 1, with each team naming 11 players. The named 11 players can only play in Division 1.
The remaining entries will form Division 2 in two groups. There will be 2 rounds with the top 3 in each group plus the u17 national squad playing off round 2 Tier 1 and the remainder play off Tier 2. National squad players will play for their respective clubs in matches against the national squad team.
Division 2 players may play Division 1 games but if they play 5 or more games in one season then they are classed as Division 1 players and can no longer compete in Division 2.
There will be NO under 19 leagues.
There will be an underage league 16/17, year of birth in line with international commitments.
Under 17 players who play Division 1 in men or women cannot play in the underage leagues but can play in underage cups.
The NWPC may establish an U14 league in line with international age group YOB.
Cup Competitions
The draw for the Irish Senior Cup Competitions is addressed to eliminate seeding of previous year league top four teams into designated groups but retains seeding in two draw pots with pot 1 being the pre-qualified top 4 league teams and pot 2 the qualifier teams.
New under 13 single gender cups are introduced in June, using a size 4 ball. The mixed under 13 cup remains and will be a Development Cup using a size 3 ball.
Completion of the 2019/20 National Leagues and Irish Cups
At the end of March, Swim Ireland and the National Water Polo Committee announced the closure of the 2019/2020 season until September 2020. The announcement was part of a broader statement that sees all aquatic activities suspended until the end of August 2020.
Arrangements are being put in place to complete the outstanding matches and tournaments at the beginning of the 2020/2021 season. These plans remain in place at present but are subject to the restrictions that inform the Swim Ireland Roadmap document.
Closure of competitive season
Swim Ireland announces the closure of the 2019/2020 season.
Swim Ireland and the National Water Polo Committee have announced the closure of the 2019/2020 season until September 2020.
Arrangements are being put in place to complete the outstanding matches and tournaments at the beginning of the 2020/2021 season.
The announcement is part of a broader statement that sees all aquatic activities suspended until the end of August 2020.
This is disappointing for the club and our members but at least provides clarity for the coming months.
More details are available on the Swim Ireland website and below.
Covid-19 Update: 23 March 2019
An update on training, matches, fees, and staying fit and healthy
We would like to offer an update players, parents and members at this difficult time. If you have any other questions, please get in touch.
From all at Cú Chulainn WPC - stay safe and we’ll see you in the water soon.
Training and competitions
We haven’t had an update from Swim Ireland or Ireland Water Polo since the initial decision was taken to suspend training. The recent announcement from the UK government means that we will definitely not be training or competing until mid-April at the earliest.
Keep an eye on social media channels for further updates.
Fees
Effective immediately we would like to offer members the option of reducing their monthly subs to £5 a month for juniors and £10 a month for seniors. This rate would last until sessions are reinstated. We hope that this will help anyone who has had their income reduced.
We haven’t reduced subs to zero because our members pay their annual fees across 12 months but the club incurs most of its expenditure on training and competitions between September and April.
If anyone isn’t in a position to pay, please get in touch.
Staying fit and healthy
Swim Ireland have assembled a guide to help athletes stay fit and healthy during the Covid-19 emergency:
Follow the advice and the rules
We would encourage all members and the families to follow the official advice. These are difficult times but by working together we can help to save lives and ease the burden on our health service.
Helping members and the community
We are still allowed to leave our homes to provide care or to help a vulnerable person. If you or someone you know needs assistance, please get in touch and club members will do what they can to help.
Coronavirus (Covid-19) Update
Update re training, fixtures and fundraiser.
To our members
Coronavirus (Covis-19) Update
Following advice from Swim Ireland and Ireland Water Polo, Cú Chulainn WPC would like to inform all members that all regional and national events including matches and cup competitions have been postponed until further notice. We are not aware when or if events will be rescheduled.
Our planned fundraiser due to take place on Friday 20 March is also postponed. We hope to re-schedule this in the coming weeks.
At present, training sessions for junior and senior players will continue. This is consistent with the statements issued by our governing body. We will continue to monitor the situation and inform members if there is any change. If you are in any doubt as to whether you should attend, please consider the advice from the Public Health Agency.
The Swim Ireland statement is available at: www.swimireland.ie/news/coronavirus-covid-19-update-no-2-12th-march-2020
The Public Health Agency guidance is available at: https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/