Golf and tennis clubs back in the swing of things
County Board hope club training will return on July 20
WICKLOW GAA clubs have been instructed to be ready for their teams to begin training on July 20 when Phase 4 of the easing of restrictions due to Covid-19 kicks in.
The advice was offered to clubs during the county board meeting on Monday night that was held via a conference call which the media were not invited to join.
This is the second such county board meeting since the lockdown began and this one lasted roughly and hour and 40 minutes and it served as an opportunity for the County Board to explain to clubs what is in the pipeline over the coming weeks.
Club delegates were instructed to inform their clubs to make preparations for their adult teams to return to training from July 20 depending obviously on Government instruction and how the Covid-19 numbers react between now and then.
Clubs will be given two weeks to prepare their teams for championship football at which point the championships must commence as there will only be a short window of opportunity for club action before the inter-county scene kicks in.
Wicklow GAA officials have not been told whether they have an eight-week or a 12-week window to play their games but Wicklow GAA’s Paul Wilson says that if it is eight weeks, the championships will be knock-out, and if it’s 12-weeks, that opens the door to other opportunities.
The Hollywood club man said that if things go well in terms of Covid-19 clubs could see the start date brought forward
Delegates were asked to come back to the County Board with suggestions of possible ways to run off the club championships and they were also instructed to get back to the executive with confirmation of exactly how many teams each club will have as it’s expected that some players will not play given the health implications.
‘There will be a certain number of players who won’t want to play,’ he said. That could have an impact on second and third teams.
However, other sources within Wicklow GAA remain doubtful that action will resume so soon due to the requirement for social distancing.