Club newsletter - April update

Club newsletter

The club have launched a monthly newsletter. It includes information on return to water, competition, a vacancy for the clubs Swim Ulster rep and some activities for seniors and juniors over the coming weeks and months.

If you have any ideas for what might be included in future editions or any information that you’d like to share with other members, get in touch.

Below is a link to this month’s edition.

• Cú Chulainn Club Newsletter - April 2021

Return to water

Pools in the north will reopen on 30 April for individual use. This is great news and we’d encourage all members to get back into the water and enjoy a swim to start building back fitness.

We have an indicative date of 24 May for group training indoors. We are hopeful that this will include water polo training and that we will be able to offer junior and senior sessions from that time.

Between now and then we will be working with Swim Ireland and GLL (who manage the Belfast pools) to ensure that when we can return that we can do so in as safe a way as possible.

This will be an important time for the club and we need your help to ensure that we hit the ground running and have teams in the water by the end of the summer. If anyone is interested in helping as either a coach, team manager or committee member please contact Joe, Ronan or email cuchulainn.waterpolo@gmail.com.

Return to competition

Our focus now is to get members back in the water and to remember why we enjoy the sport so much.

There are outline plans to resume competition over the summer with a focus on junior competition. The intention is that all the junior cups that should have been played over the last 14 months will be played. At this time, however, it is too early to say how and when this will happen. Safety concerns, how the restrictions will be eased in the South and pool availability will determine much of the summer calendar.

Swim Ulster Rep

We would like to invite expressions of interest in the position of Ulster Water Polo Representative.

The role requires the person to attend monthly meetings and to report back to the Cú Chulainn Committee. There is no obligation not take on extra duties.

If you are interested, please contact Joe, Ronan or send an email to cchulainn.waterpolo@gmail.com.

Seniors - catch up for run and coffee

A weekly run and catch up on Tuesdays at 8pm in parks across Belfast.

Who? Open to anyone who has played senior polo.

When: Tuesday evenings, rotating venue, meet at 8pm for a run / walk (do what you can) and then hang around from 8.30 for a coffee / tea.

• Tuesday 20 April – Grove playing fields (meet in Jellicoe Av car park)

• Tuesday 27 April – Botanic Park (meet in PEC car park)

• Tuesday 4 May – Waterworks

• Tuesday 11 May – Ormeau Park (meet in Ozone car park)

Remember that to take part in any club organised event, members must have completed the online registration form for this season. Before taking part in the activity and on the day of the activity members must complete the health screening questionnaire.

Juniors – weekly dry land sessions

Mondays at 7pm starting on 26 April. Qualified dry land coach. For juniors aged 14 to 19.

Until we can organise sessions in the pool, we are offering weekly dry land sessions for juniors. The focus is on getting active and having some fun.

The sessions are open to all junior members aged 14 to 19. They will take place on Monday evenings at 7pm in the Grove Playing Fields and will last for one hour. The first session is on Monday 26 April.

The coach for these sessions will be Thomas O’Callaghan, who is a qualified outdoor fitness instructor. A club coach will be present to help.

Remember that to take part in any club organised event, members must have completed the online registration form for this season. Before taking part in the activity and on the day of the activity members must complete the health screening questionnaire.

Juniors – introduction to open water swimming

The club are currently organising an introduction to open water swimming course for junior members. We’re hoping that it will be a great introduction to swimming outdoors and lead to more members taking part in open water swimming events across the summer months.

The course will include sessions on safety, open water swimming and some fun activities like Stand-Up Paddle boarding and a trip to Let’s Go Hyrdro. It will take place in July / August and will involve a number of venues including Leg’s Go Hyrdo and Camlough Lake.

We are still finalizing details but if you’re interested, contact Joe, Ronan or email cuchulainn.waterpolo@gmail.com

Update on competition and fees

Competitions

The Irish Water Polo Annual Conference was held on Tuesday 9 February 2021 and included an update on competitions, which have been suspended since 13 March 2020.

It will not be possible to fully complete the 2019/20 national fixtures leagues schedule. In any return to water polo, calendar time and pool time available will be critical to the structure of competitions.

Junior competitions

It is envisaged that once a return to water polo is sanctioned that the National Water Polo Committee will conduct competitions with a focus on junior cups initially. It is also envisaged that where time allows that the YOBs competitions not competed for last year (2020) will be held in a shortened format. Competitions may need to be scheduled during the summer months.

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Senior competitions

• The Irish Senior Cup competitions for 2020 will not be held.

• A return to senior competitions will focus on a 2021/22 league season.

• It is expected that senior cup competitions for the season 2020/2021, originally scheduled for February and May 2021, may be held in the October/December 2021 (4th quarter) window.

• It is to be expected that the 2020/2021 season will still be impacted by COVID 19 restrictions which will limit pool availability which may impact leagues structures.

• Lead in warm up events may be scheduled to initiate senior matches at various venues and regions, possibly in the summer months.

Fees

An email regarding fees was sent to all club members / parents and guardians. This email was primarily for those members who are continuing to pay fees. If you did not receive this email please contact cuchulainn.waterpolo@gmail.com to let us know.

Circuit breaker update

Following the announcement by the Executive of a 4 week circuit breaker, all training and club activity has been suspended. The circuit breaker is due to expire on Friday 13th November.

Swim Ulster are hosting an online meeting for Ulster clubs on Thursday 12 November 2020. It is hoped that the Executive will have made an announcement regarding how they plan to exit the circuit breaker and whether clubs will be permitted to engage in activities within Belfast based Leisure Centres.

We hope to update members on Friday 13th regarding training sessions for the week commencing Monday 16th November.

Stay safe and stay active!

CCWPC Committee

Return to water - junior and maxi polo

Junior polo (11 to 17)

Junior sessions will resume in the Grove Leisure Centre on Wednesday 16 September for U13, U15 and U17 players.

• U13 players - 8.00pm to 9.00pm.

• U15 and U17 - 8.00pm to 9.30pm.

Covid measures

• Prior to attending the first session, parents / guardians must complete the online registration form for their son.

• Prior to attending every session and on the day of the session, parents / guardians must complete the health screening questionnaire (no later than 3pm on the day of the session). If a form has not been completed the player will not be allowed to participate.

• The session will be overseen by a trained club Covid-19 officer.

• Players must arrive with their togs on under their clothes and change on the bank.

• Players must bring their own goggles.

• Players may use the changing facilities before exiting the leisure centre.

• Parents / guardians are not allowed to enter the leisure centre at any time.

Maxi Polo and U13s (9 to 13)

Maxi polo sessions will resume in the Falls Leisure Centre on Thursday 17 September.

• 7.00pm to 8.00pm.

At the moment, we are limiting this session to boys and girls aged 9 to 13 who can dress themselves after the session before meeting their parents at the door. The leisure centre does not allow parents to enter the building so this is a necessary step.

Parents may find it easier to provide children with loose fitting clothes or pyjamas to change into after the session. It’s also an option for the children to leave the pool without changing (wearing a robe, for example).

Covid measures

• Prior to attending the first session, parents/guardians must complete the online registration form for their child.

• Prior to attending every session and on the day of the session, parents/guardians must complete the health screening questionnaire for their child (no later than 3pm on the day of the session). If a form has not been completed the child will not be allowed to participate.

• The session will be overseen by a trained club Covid-19 officer.

• Children must arrive with their togs on under their clothes and change on the bank.

• Children must bring their own goggles.

• Children may use the changing facilities before exiting the leisure centre.

• Parents / guardians are not allowed to enter the leisure centre at any time.

• A club officer will be at the door after the session to ensure that children are collected by a parent or guardian.

What training will look like

We will be reintroducing players to the water slowly. The aim is to build swimming capability with some light ball exercises before progressing to more complex passing and shooting.

At the moment we will not be permitting contact training in junior sessions. When we take a decision to allow this, we will let parents know in advance.

All players, coaches and parents/guardians should read the Swim Ireland Water Polo Framework and addendum framework. Members can also view a return to water walk through video prepared by Swim Ireland.

Covid-19 Officer training

We need more parents to volunteer as covid-19 officers in order to run our junior sessions.

Swim Ireland have launched a COVID-19 Officer e-Learning Course to support clubs in meeting the Return to Water requirements. If you are willing to help, please complete the online course and send a copy of your certificate to the club secretary.

• Complete the course

Phased return to water

This page contains information on

• Senior training

• Junior training

• Online registration for 2020/21

• Self report screening forms

• What training will look like

• Covid-19 officer training

Senior training

Pools in Belfast are reopening on Thursday 6 August. We have been offered the following training sessions during Phase 1 beginning Tuesday 11 August.

• Tuesdays, 9.00 to 10.00, Lisnasharragh Leisure Centre

• Wednesdays, 9.00 to 10.00, Falls Leisure Centre

In line with Swim Ireland guidance and pool operator requirements, these sessions are open to members over the age of 14 who played senior waterpolo (Div 1 or Div 3) last season.

Junior training

At present, Belfast City Council pools are not open to players under the age of 14. We are hopeful that this will change in Phase 2. We will update members when we have more information.

Registration

We require all members to complete an online registration form prior to returning to training. Where a player is U18, the form should be completed by the player’s parent/guardian. We would encourage all players and parents to complete the form as soon as possible to allow us to plan for the upcoming season.

The registration form will ensure that we have up to date contact details in the event that contact tracing is required. The form also includes the Return to Water Self Declaration , which must be completed by all members prior to returning to training.

• Online registration form

Self report screening form

Before each session, athletes and coaching staff must complete a self report screening form. If the form is not completed the athlete will not be permitted to train. This must be completed by 3pm on the day of the training session. Where a player is U18, the form should be completed by the player’s parent/guardian

• Self report training form

What will training look like

All players, coaches and parents/guardians should read the Swim Ireland Water Polo Framework and addendum framework.

We will be sending members further details of what they can expect when they attend training sessions from Tuesday 11 August. Members can also view a return to water walk through video prepared by Swim Ireland.

Covid-19 officer e-learning course

Swim Ireland have launched a COVID-19 Officer e-Learning Course to support clubs in meeting the Return to Water requirements.

Every club session must have a Covid-19 officer present. To ensure that the club is able to provide a full schedule of training we need as many members and parents to complete the training as possible. When a sufficient number of volunteers are trained we will organize a rota. Our hope is that parents or members will only have to volunteer for one session per month. If you are willing to help, please complete the online course and send a copy of your certificate to the club secretary.

• Complete the course