Following the latest government announcement regarding the national lockdown to help combat the spread of COVID-19, England Hockey has confirmed that all club and community hockey activities must cease from Thursday, 5th November until after Wednesday, 2nd December at the earliest.

Your club management committee has endeavoured to adhere to all England Hockey COVID-19 guidelines thus far, and will continue to do so. As such, our facilities will be closed from Thursday, 5th November until further notice. For the avoidance of doubt, this closure applies to all hockey activity, including casual use of the pitch by individual members.

Hockey activities may continue this week, under the current COVID-19 restrictions, up to and including Wednesday, 4th November.

England Hockey has advised that any planning for a return to hockey activity after 2nd December, and up to Christmas, should be for training and very local matches. The implication of this statement is that there will be no more league or cup matches before Christmas, although we anticipate further clarification on this in the coming days.

While the full COVID-19 impact on league/cup fixtures this season is still unknown, the management committee is undertaking scenario planning to assess the potential impact on club finances. In the meantime we are continuing to collect annual membership subscriptions as normal, but will consider potential refunds/discounts, as agreed by members, once the situation is clearer.

The landscape is changing all the time and we shall react accordingly to changes in, or clarification of, the official guidelines when they occur. In the meantime, we thank all members for their understanding and patience in these unprecedented times. The most important consideration continues to be the safety of our members, families and friends.

The full England Hockey statement can be viewed here.