COVID-19 Statement

As September approaches and plans for next season are well underway, I would like to offer our current and prospective members reassurance amidst uncertain times. Our biggest concern is for your health and well-being and this will be our priority in any decisions made going forward. We must ensure our players are kept safe, by upholding guidelines set out by the UK Government and England Netball, but also by ensuring we do our best to minimise the risk of injury to our players, ahead of their return to the court. The welfare and fitness of all players is critical and following the national lockdown, we are adamant that players have sufficient preparation and training before taking part in any competition to reduce the risk of potential injuries, which let’s be honest are common enough as it is amongst netballers! We are currently working on our summer training programme which will be with you as soon as it is ready, to allow you to train at home or at a gym, whichever you personally feel is safest. This will allow our players to safely and gradually reintroduce training, to prepare for the next time they play, whenever that may be. In terms of the season ahead, there is little that we know for certain and a lot that is still undecided. As such, we are taking a proactive approach to planning, to ensure that, as and when restrictions allow, our players can return to play as swiftly, but primarily as safely, as is possible. Our exec committee are working hard behind the scenes, discussing and planning. Pre-season is usually an important start to the academic year, for introducing prospective members to the club and initiating group training ahead of the netball season. Due to COVID-19, the nature of preseason this year is subject to England Netball and government guidelines, and we will continue to offer updates as and when they arise. We hope to hold fitness training, injury prevention, ball skills sessions and socials –adapted to safely meet the most up to date guidelines. Any actions we take will be subject to continuous review and guidance from Cambridge University Sport. We will be updating the health and safety information on our website with detailed information regarding updates to England Netball guidelines and how we, as a club, plan to meet those guidelines. Anyone with any concerns regarding health and safety can contact me (president@culnc.org) or Jemima, our Vice-captain & Welfare Officer (vice-captain@culnc.org). British Universitiesand Colleges Sport (BUCS) have announced that the 2020-21 season will be a ‘bridging season’ running from January to April 2021 but are currently investigating how they might offer competitive opportunities in Michaelmas term. Updates regarding this can be found here.

We are keen to offer as many competitive opportunities to players as we can, but only where safe to do so. I would finally like to encourage any prospective members that CULNCwill be as welcoming, active and fun as it has always been, and that we look forward to welcoming new players to the CULNC family. We are committed to offering competitive female sporting opportunity, and to deliver the supportive and fun environment that makes CULNC what it is, while ensuring that we respond effectively to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We encourage our current members, incoming netballers and supporters to keep an eye on our website and social media channels as well as the latest advice from the UK Government and England Netball. Thank you for your understanding and patience. We look forward to being back on court, as soon as it is safe to do so. All the netball love xx Rosie CULNC President 2020-21 For the PDF of this statement, click here.