COVID 19 – Outlining How We Can Return to Action

No one knows exactly when, and it won’t be any time soon that table tennis is back to normal. However, National Governing Bodies have published a basic plan of a phased return to table tennis when the lockdown is gradually lifted.

Phase 1 – Play and exercise at home 
Phase 2 – Limited Club Activity
Phase 3 – Preparing for Localised Comps
Phase 4 – Local Comp Resumes
Phase 5 – Full play and spectating in place 

Phase 2 – Limited Club Activity will be the next stage for table tennis and sports in general whenever that may be. This could look like small groups at the club, staggered club nights. 1-1 coaching could maybe return. Training could be with fixed training partners, no doubles, no handshakes, no change of sides.

Below I have attached 3 reports / articles from TT Scotland, TT England and TT Germany. Plenty ideas on how table tennis could resume safely when we have been given the green light to get some club activities back up and running.

Table Tennis Germany – Recommendations of club based TT activities
German TT Federation Guidance

“Sports clubs make a valuable contribution to the coexistence of society and health. The understandable restrictions to slow the pandemic are easier to bear in the long term if you give people a perspective, at least in small places.”

Table Tennis Scotland – May 9th Website Update
https://tabletennisscotland.co.uk/covid-19-update-2/

“This week has seen many of the political and public conversations move to how the country can carefully transition out of the current lockdown arrangement. We now know however from the First Minister`s announcement on Thursday, the Scottish Government has made an evidence-based decision to extend the lockdown for a further period of three weeks.”

Table Tennis England – How we can return to action
https://tabletennisengland.co.uk/news/archived/outlining-how-we-can-return-to-action/

“Table tennis activity contributes to many health, social and economic benefits across the country and many of us will be missing the game, however it is vitally important that when activity is resumed, it does not compromise the health and safety of individuals or communities.”