‘IGNORING INDOOR GAMES ISN’T FAIR’
IRELAND’S INDOOR sports are demanding a clear Government plan for their return, with one leading figure warning that years’ worth of damage will be done without it.
A meeting yesterday morning between 18 indoor sports will be followed within the next two days by a paper being sent to Government highlighting the main areas of concern.
Indoor sports have been more pervasively affected by lockdown and other restrictions than outdoor ones, because of the greater risk of virus spread in indoor settings.
Bernard O’Byrne, the CEO of Basketball Ireland, outlined his concerns to Sportsmail last night. He estimated that up to 200,000 people would be playing basketball in an ordinary year, between t he vi brant s chools’ game and club settings.
‘First of all, I’m worried about t he i mmediate employment impact on our 52 national league clubs,’ he said.
‘People have contracts. We have semi-professionals and professionals, and they have been holding on and holding on, waiting for the season to start.
‘And it’s unfair to keep them in limbo. We need to let them know what’s happening.
‘In the wider context, I’d be very worried that l ocal basketball clubs will struggle to hold on to their younger members, because they could well drift off to other sports.
‘And it could take years to repair the damage done to the sporting infrastructure if we don’t act.’
The move by the country’s indoor sports comes as the Government finalises plans to ease lockdown from next week.
Under a mooted return to Level 3 restrictions, outdoor training can take place in pods of up to 15, with exemptions for elite levels. However, O’Byrne says there is frustration within indoors sports because they believe their voices are not being heard.
‘Our main concern is that indoor sports haven’t been consulted and haven’t been listened to,’ he said.
‘What we are looking for is an exit plan out of Level 5. If we come out of Level 5, we want a plan from the Government as to how we can get back playing.
‘What we are asking for is that our national league clubs would be allowed train during December, with a view to starting the league on January 9.
‘But our concern at the moment really is that after three or four months of putting forward various papers and having various meetings, that nobody seems to have listened to us at all.
‘The outdoor sports are well catered for and that’s fine but it seems to be the indoor fraternity are completely ignored. And it’s not fair, and not good enough.’