Elite sport allowed to continue during November lockdown in England

Elite sport will be allowed to continue during a second national lockdown in England. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered gyms, swimming pools and smaller clubs in England to close.

Professional sportspeople are allowed to continue due to the testing regimes in place in their sports, and Johnson confirmed at a Downing Street press conference: “I can say yes to the Premier League.”

A tweet by Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden confirmed that elite sport would be “played behind closed doors” once the lockdown begins on Thursday.

The government’s website on the Covid-19 restrictions confirmed that indoor and outdoor leisure facilities “such as bowling alleys, leisure centres and gyms, sports facilities including swimming pools, golf courses and driving ranges, dance studios, stables and riding centres, soft play facilities, climbing walls and climbing centres, archery and shooting ranges, water and theme parks” would all close.

There is uncertainty over whether under-18 sports will be allowed to continue outside a school setting.

England Golf say they are liaising with the government to figure out how their sport will be affected

People are encouraged not to leave their homes, but they are “encouraged to go outside for exercise” for unlimited periods, either with people from their own households or on a one-to-one basis with one person from another household.

The news was welcomed by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, who said: “It is obviously what we wanted (football to continue) and I think we proved we can keep the bubble safe.

“Everyone had cases, that is the time we are in, but we could isolate these cases pretty quickly to prevent spread.

“I think it never happened at a training ground but it has happened when travelling, with international teams, normal life. I think we proved we can do it.

“And in a lockdown it is really important for the people that they can do things they like to do, and watching football is obviously something they like to do. I am happy we can continue.”

The Football Association (FA), the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and England Golf say they are liaising with the government to figure out how their sports will be affected.

However, Swim England reacted unfavourably, and chief executive Jane Nickerson said that the transmission of Covid-19 in pools had been very low.

She said: “We have consistently made the case that aquatic activity is both safe and a lifeline for many people in such uncertain times and that leisure centres should therefore be considered an essential service.

“For many people, the pool offers the only opportunity for them to be active – something that will be more important than ever during another lockdown. A second period of closure will push many facilities over the edge and there is the dangerous prospect of losing so many facilities for good.”

UK Active, which represents more than 4,000 gyms and swimming pools, urged the prime minister to ensure comprehensive financial support for the sector to “minimise the now grave threat to further business failure and significant job losses”, and warned of “a further deterioration in both physical and mental health levels across the country”.

A third of leisure centres have still not reopened because of financial issues

In a letter to Boris Johnson, UK Active’s chair Tanni Grey-Thompson wrote: “With the onset of winter, outdoor exercise will be much less appealing so the provision of safe facilities for physical activity will be vital,” she wrote. “The implication of not being able to access these facilities for millions will lead to a further deterioration in both physical and mental health levels across the country, with implications on longer term public health challenges.”

The organisation warns that nearly half of Britain’s leisure centres and 20% of the country’s swimming pools risk permanent closure before Christmas. A third of leisure centres have still not reopened because of financial issues as a result of the first lockdown.