A chairde,

 The following changes to the return to activity guidelines are being made after recommendations from the Covid-19 Advisory Committee.

These changes were subsequently endorsed by the GAA, the Camogie Association and the LGFA.

This week:

• Open pitches for Adult training next Wednesday, June 24. 
• Open for Minor and below from Saturday, June 27.
• Both of the above on a non-contact basis and on the understanding that players and all participants have completed the eLearning module and are following the control measures in place (health questionnaire etc).
• On the basis of a maximum of 15 players in a designated area of the field (26 Counties) and 10 players in a designated area of the field (6 Counties).
• Coaching numbers for underage teams to be consistent with Code of Behaviour.

 From June 29:

 Allow contact training and challenge games for all from Monday, June 29 (26 Counties).

• We await guidance from the NI Executive in relation to 6 Counties – non-contact training in the numbers outlined above in the interim.
• We also await clarification on what will constitute a close contact versus a casual contact.
• Restriction on participants-only attending training sessions to be relaxed from June 29 – subject to government specified maximum of 200 people in the ground. 
• Allow Club Fixtures from Friday July 17.
• No change to inter-county dates (Sept 14th for training; competitions to start on Oct 17 as planned).
• All control measures for players, coaches and other team personnel (completion of health questionnaire, eLearning education etc) is to remain in place until advised otherwise; dressing rooms to remain closed until July 20.
• The Advisory Committee is considering the position in relation to other GAA buildings (such as Club bars that are serving food, Gyms, Handball alleys etc). Guidance will be provided in this context before June 29.

Anyone who may be interested in refereeing underage games, please email probng.east.cork@gaa.ie to express your interest.

A Safe Return for Gaelic Games Document has been issued by the GAA’s Covid-19 advisory group.

See link for full details.

https://www.gaa.ie/news-archive/news/covid-19-update-safe-return-to-gaelic-games/

WITH summer camps and holidays cancelled (some Cúl camps are going ahead) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a challenge has been put out to the young people of Cork to push themselves to do focused, positive and fun activities and earn rewards for achieving personal goals and new skills.

Cork ETB (CETB), in partnership with the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Joe Kavanagh and Cork County Mayor Cllr Ian Doyle, are issuing the We Are Cork Youth Challenge for summer 2020 to give youngsters and teens an opportunity to jump into a fresh skill or develop existing talents.

Some 30 challenges across music, arts, society, environment, sport and technology have been set with registered participants asked to complete 20 tasks over the summer months and record their experiences for others to see. A special Mayor’s medal will be given to each successful participant with IT prizes also up for grabs for the most creative and exciting challenges.

We Are Cork Youth Challenge is timed to start from June 22^nd, a day before St John’s Eve (Bonfire Night) aiming to provide young participants with opportunities to focus their energies on positive activities through the summer as well as on that night.

Lord Mayor Cllr Joe Kavanagh has taken on the baton of his predecessor John Sheehan to promoted the Challenge. He pointed out that all of those who take part and complete the challenges will earn a special edition commemorative Lord Mayor’s Medal and be in with a chance to win one of six iPads. “Travel restrictions, the widespread cancellation of summer camps and traditional summer activities have made this a very different summer holiday experience for many young people.  Cork ETB has moved quickly to help fill the void, and I urge as many people as possible to participate,” added the Lord Mayor.

Cork ETB devised the We Are Cork Youth Challenge in partnership with Cork City and County Councils, Music Generation, Cork Sports Partnerships and others in response to the Covid-19 crisis; it is hoped that thousands of Cork teenagers will get involved and focus their energies and have some fun in the process. The ETB funds over 14 organisations to provide youth services throughout Cork as well as allocating grants to voluntary youth clubs and organisations, aiming to achieve better outcomes and brighter futures for children.

CETB Chief Executive, Denis Leamy – who chairs the Youth Committee of Cork City Council’s Covid Response team – explained that a total of 30 inclusive, non-gender-specific challenges have been set with young people completing 20 of them to earn the commemorative Lord Mayor’s Medal. He stressed that this is not a competition. “The overall aim is participation, engagement and fun – lots of fun,” he said. “The challenges should be kept simple and could be anything from completing a 3km run, compiling a Spotify list, cooking a meal traditional to another country or composing a rap or song or writing a poem,” he explained.

The We Are Cork Youth Challenge involves young people uploading videos of their challenges completed to Microsoft’s free, easily-accessed and secure FLIPGRID app and social media channels which will be moderated by Cork ETB.

• https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=5dxZqSWTaE6FLpbAo2Za1hA4hfTF9x5Jr3s_zfD7j35UNk8xMzBBOTNHMDBQOTZGNVU0TU1WR0NOTi4u

This workshop will be presented by Damien Coleman, Connacht Hurling Development Manager. It will give to those in attendance an insight into “Best Practice” for coaching and developing our youngest and most vulnerable players.  It will explain the values and guidelines that have been meticulously developed over many years by the GAA’s Coaching & Games Department.

90% of the workshop is highly relevant to coaches of all sports and all ages as it is value based and values transcend all sports and all age grades. Those currently involved with young players will obviously find it beneficial, but it would also be an excellent starting point for those considering getting involved in coaching whether they are current players or people that have never lifted a hurl.

This is a good opportunity to recruit some new coaches for your club so maybe pick up the phone and ask some “potentials” to register. It will set them up nicely for maybe taking their first steps into coaching by signing on for one of the GAA’s excellent foundation courses held in every county.

• When registering please double check the email address you enter (dots & spaces in particular) as if you submit an incorrect address, we have no way to send you the link to the event.
• Please also register by 9pm on Sunday night so that we can send you the link to join the event.  If you have not received the link to join by Monday morning, please inform us by email. It may be that you made a typing error when entering your email address. We will do our best to accommodate late registrations but cannot guarantee.

Register here for the session on Monday next, May 11, 8pm on Nursery Hurling: Value and guidelines, part one: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=hrxFrNSvpUKfwz6H4bd_zt7yIXMZmCpLhPGC25EIp9ZUNFU0Q0VDRTVLTUFEVDJONlgxSzJEWEQzUC4u

Webinar on Monday, May 18, will be on The Goalie – Number 1 on every  team.

This workshop is a must for all hurling coaches and is highly recommended for current and prospective goalkeepers. It will be presented by Martin Fogarty, National Hurling Development Manager and will look at all aspects of goalkeeping especially the requirements to be a teams No. 1 and the specialised training involved. The workshop will include priceless advice from some of the game’s greatest goalies.

Note: Each webinar requires a separate and distinct log-in. Attendees need to complete a registration form for each event and subsequently receive a log-in link.