When?
Unfortunately, government and therefore Table Tennis England advice is still, ‘not yet!’. We were hoping for some good news about the 4th July, but indoor sport was not included in that group of easing measures. We now have our fingers crossed for mid-July. You can read full details on the current status here: https://tabletennisengland.co.uk/news/archived/coronavirus-update/ .
How?
Assuming we get the go ahead to move into stage 2 (limited club activity) soon, the club will likely start by re-opening with a strict members only table booking system in place.
This system will allow members to book two-hour slots in each room, with there being just one table in each room. The two-hour slot is designed to give enough time for a good work out, whilst also allowing time for the participants to clean the table (cleaning materials will be provided) and exit the club before the next group arrive. The two rooms will have staggered start times to prevent groups arriving at the same time. To begin with, we are likely to only allow two members to attend each booking but we can expand this number as and when it seems safe and sensible to do so. There will be no large group sessions but there may be some junior coaching sessions with extremely limited numbers.
Some hand sanitizer will be made available at the club but we will also ask you to provide your own. Other precautions like maintaining sensible social distancing rules and keeping doors open and the club well ventilated where possible will also be in place.
We hope these measures will be short lived, but we will be led by TTE and government advise.
What you can do now?
You can get yourself ready for stage 2 opening by making sure you have access to the membership portal where you will be able to make bookings. The membership portal is here https://www.colebridge.uk/portal and if we have an email address for you, you are already registered although you may need to reset your password. Those without email or the less technically inclined can ask another member to make bookings for them, we have made it so any member can book on behalf of other members so we can all help out the less technically skilled.