Covid Safe Operation Policy

As we begin to start operating with the Covid pandemic still a critical health and safety issue, GeckoSports will implement and follow the below strict hygiene and social distancing procedures. Your children’s wellbeing is as always, our number one priority. We take the responsibility of having your child in our care very seriously.

OUR BUSINESS WILL BE ADHERING TO THE FOLLOWING COVID SAFE OPERATING PROCEDURES:

• Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in each State

• Department of Education and Training (DET)

• Australian Institute of Sport Framework Guide to a Safe Return to Sport (AIS)

• Specific venue requirements as instructed based on hire agreements

Each GeckoSports location will abide strictly by their States permitted number of participants in each session (this will change from time to time in-line with Government updates as advised).

Please understand we must work within the Governments required framework as we ensure a Covid safe environment at all times.

We endeavor to protect all children, coaches and parents while attending GeckoSports sessions from contracting any infectious diseases and or virus.

COVID COACHING SAFE POLICY & PROCEEDURES

1. Ensure a deep sanitization clean of all GeckoSports equipment before re-operating and continue to surface clean after each session of equipment used.

2. Coaches are required to send a reminder prior to each session to ask parents to kindly not attend if their child is feeling unwell and stay at home and get tested, this also applies to coaching staff.

3. Additional coaches will be allocated to assist with Covid-safe practices and social distancing

4. Coaches ensure children are safely dropped off and collected by their respective parents and parents contact names and numbers are on hand.

5. Have on hand at all times and use hand sanitizer before starting all sessions including children and coaching staff, as well as during sessions depending on what equipment is used for each activity/game.

6. Ensure coaches, children and spectators practice good hygiene, coughs/sneeze into their elbow, dispose of used tissues immediately, use hand sanitizer often, ensure children do not share drink bottles or food and monitor children’s hand washing after visiting the toilet.

7. Coaches to use minimal equipment where possible, reduce surface contact with equipment.

8. Coaches to run modified non-contact programs until 1st July 2020 in-line with each States return to Junior Sport dates.

9. If anyone becomes unwell during a session, avoid contact and ensure to sit out of the session, call the child’s parents immediately to request they are picked up and taken home and tested.

10. Coaches are to practice safe social distancing with children and ensure to constantly position children 1.5mts away from each other with our special coloured floor spots, avoid close face-to-face contact games and activities and reduce the amount of contact with equipment (e.g. where possible have 1 child per ball rather than multiple kids touching the one ball).

11. As Hi-5’s are still a no go, we will be doing air-Hi-5’s instead! Sorry no hands in goo-Geckos, we can do them apart from a far though.

WHAT YOU CAN DO AS PARENTS

1. Refrain from participating if your child or a member of your family is feeling unwell.

2. If you or your child have travelled or been exposed to someone who has COVID-19 or travelled to an affected area, please ensure to quarantine for 14 days before rejoining and get tested.

3. Ensure kids practice thorough hand washing, cough/sneeze into elbows and do not share drink bottles, we will provide hand sanitizer at the start and end of each session and throughout as required based on equipment handling.

4. Each child participating in a GeckoSports session is required to bring their own water bottle (clearly labeled with the child’s name)

5. Where food is required for parties or holiday programs, it shall be BYO and each parents responsibility to provide individual food for their child only to avoid allergic food reactions. Strictly no sharing of food or drinks is permitted. Children are allowed to have their own plate of food not take from a share platter/bowl.

6. Educate your children on social distancing and importance of listening to the Coach and following their instructions to stand on designated spots and not touch other children.

7. Advise contact name and numbers for all children attending a GeckoSports session in your care, i.e. birthday parties, we require a list prior to the event of all attendees.

8. Where possible assist with safe child drop off and pick-ups to avoid gathering of parents. For now, we ask parents not to stay and watch classes to avoid unmanageable social distancing in each location (only the parents of a children attending a trial class or having a birthday party are permitted to stay and watch).

Whilst we are doing all we can to support the health and wellbeing of you, your child, our staff and the wider community, we ask for your patience and help to navigate and ensure a safe environment.

Thank you for your understanding and support as we all learn to operate in a new Covid-Safe way.

We cannot wait to get back to some serious fun with the kids of Australia!