Month: March 2021

We are pleased to say the Stadium is planning to reopen from Thursday 18th March 2021. Initially the Stadium will only open Tuesdays and Thursdays 3.30 pm to 9pm.
However numbers and athlete flow will be managed which has all been agreed after long discussions with all parties. Tuesdays and Thursdays will be club nights.

Athletes must maintain 2 m distancing from all others before and after a session, during the session it is 2m apart if running side by side and 5m apart if in single file.

There will be two sessions each night 18.00 to 19.15 and 19.30 to 21.00 There will be six coaching stations outdoors only for the moment but news will soon be released on Indoor Guidelines which we will send out as soon as we have an update.

• You can’t simply appear and train.
• Coaches book a station and invite their athletes from the list of those who have acknowledged the guidance.
• No acknowledgement = No invite = No training.
• If you have still to do your acknowledgement please do so here (please do not do so if you have already done this)

Discussions are ongoing to when the Run Jump Throw Pathway group will restart and this will be communicated direct to this group when further info is known.
So what happens at the stadium

Arrival

• Please park/drop off in EAST car park (nearest traffic lights)
• Proceed to reception and if there is a queue (socially distant) it will be towards the EAST car park
• Put on face mask before entering and keep it on whilst in reception/corridor/toilet.
• Preferred payment is by card or monthly stadium pass, but cash will be taken only as a last resort. Use hand sanitisers
• Café and vending machines not available, but a grab and pay stall will be at reception for water.  Water coolers/fountains not available
• Proceed down corridor and visit toilets if needed (lockers and showers not available)
•  Exit corridor via track door (unless going to indoor area)
•  Wait in the holding area until your coach is ready, they will collect you.
•  Parents if waiting should do so in their cars, stand is closed

Session 

• You must stay in your station the full session including warm up and cool down.
•  If you need the toilet you can’t enter the building via the track doors. You must, exit stadium via side gates – put on mask – renter at reception – corridor – toilets – track doors

Exit and Pick up 

• Exit via side gate at end of stand
• Pick up will be from the WEST car park
• Parents should wait OUTSIDE the gates to collect their children PLEASE BE PROMPT
• Children should wait inside gates until parents arrive

Indoor Centre -Awaiting further information from Scottish Athletics and will send out as soon as we have it. Please see map below of flow of entering and exiting the Stadium that we have to adhere to at all times while using the Stadium Facilities.

Look forward to returning to some normality and getting back to training fully.

Falkirk Victoria Harriers

COVID-19

scottishathletics has updated guidance for sport and physical activity from sportscotland.

Following the link above and check the documents dated 11/03/21 for further detail.

We’re pleased to say these moves bring about a return to group training from Friday – up to 30 athletes and coaches at U12 age group; 12-17 year-olds – groups of 15; and adults – groups of 15.

The Level 4 refers to all areas of Scotland currently with exception of a number of island communities who are now Level 3 (except Skye which is Level 4).

The key changes are summarised below:

From Friday 12 March:

Age 11 and under (Level 4)

• Children aged 11 and under can take part in outdoor organised athletics training and/or group exercise within their usual club or facility environment.
• An outdoor sporting ‘field of play bubble’ for children aged 11 and under can consist of up to 30 people, including coaches and officials, at any one time.
• Children are not required to physically distance. Coaches and officials should maintain physical distancing where possible.
• Where there are multiple bubbles operating at the same venue risk assessments must be completed to ensure there can be no mixing of participants before, during or after the activity.

• 

Age 12+ (Level 4)

• Those aged 12+ and over can take part in organised athletics training and/or group exercise within their usual club or facility environment.
• Group sizes of up to 15 people, including coaches and officials, are permitted at any one time.
• Physical distancing should be maintained at all times.
• Where there are multiple bubbles operating at the same venue risk assessments must be completed to ensure there can be no mixing of participants before, during or after the activity.

Travel

• Children aged 17 years or under may travel into or out of a Level 4 area for organised athletics activity if that is where their club or activity normally takes place.
• Adults (18+) should only travel locally (within their local authority area) to take part in organised sport or physical activity.
• For informal exercise, people of all ages should only travel up to 5 miles from their local authority boundary.
• Coaches and Jog leaders can travel across local authority boundaries to coach/lead. However, please remember to minimise travel where possible.

I’m sure many of you will long remember the torrential rain that accompanied the Christmas Handicaps and 1500m TT in December. That was the start of the 2021 Road Series, and now with lighter days and hopefully better weather, as well as a return to group training, it’s time to set the next challenge for our road series in 2021.
This time last year we had a full series of external races and club member exclusive races lined up for our series, and obviously the pandemic put a stop to those plans, so this year we are taking it one step at a time.

For 2021 we are splitting into two groups once again, the Junior Challenge for U11-U15 members, and the Road Challenge for U17-Masters. We will convert finishing times into age grade scores again, to make the age differences in the two challenges more equal, just as we did in 2020. We plan to have a series of virtuals, time trials and hopefully, actual races, and there will the same minimum number of events that need to be run as in 2020, so 4 for the older group and 3 for the younger group.
Next up in the series is the SAL Virtual event bring run from Friday 26th March to Monday 29th March. It’s open for entry now (£2 to SAL members) and has different distances depending on age, as follows:

U11 1.5km
U13 3km
U15 4km
U17 5km
U20 8km OR Marathon,
Senior/Masters 10k OR Marathon

You’ll find the entry and all the SAL rules at the link above.
After the results are published by SAL the club will take the Vics results and calculate the age graded scores and publish the scores for both Challenges.

https://scottishathletics.sportserve.net/pages/event/athletics/athleticsbookingdetails.aspx?id=11175

All the best
Grant