To all Mt. Lofty Members, Players, Officials, Parents and Caregivers.
I would like to take this opportunity to advise you all that unfortunately it was determined by the HFL and SANFL late last week that our home games scheduled for April will be played as away games due to the new change rooms not being completed in time for the start of the 2022 season. This will hopefully see us re-commence football at Mt. Lofty the weekend commencing 6th – 8th of MAY all going well.
The senior committee came up with a ‘final plan’ to be able to accommodate these games at home but unfortunately this was rejected at HFL board level then passed onto SANFL who also rejected the plan. The club does not blame the HFL or the SANFL in making their decision and we respect the call of the umpire.
This plan was put forward as a solution funded solely by the Mt. Lofty FC due to the decision being made by Council that the funding to implement a temporary facility which would have seen these games not played as away games was no longer available. There has been a heap of communication with council over the last 12 months on the necessity of these temporary rooms to be implemented to avoid any games being played elsewhere and the need for a ‘proper’ facility to be set up for trainings etc. With cost over runs on the build of the new facility, the council decided they could no longer fund this and left it to the club to take on the cost ourselves. This cost could be significant due to the open-ended nature of the build contract and the committees decided the club did not want to put ourselves into a situation that could drag on thus ending up costing the club an ‘unknown’ amount of money. We put forward a very basic plan that the club thought we could manage the cost of doing, but unfortunately this has been rejected.
The committee has tried its best to get a temporary solution so it is disappointing to now have to play our games as away games. We have been advised these games will only be swapped. Allowing them to be played in the second half of the year as home games. This decision hopefully will not burden the club too much or the advantage to the teams playing at home.
These decisions are final and there are no other avenues we can go down so we have now decided to concentrate on moving forward and making the best of the situation. I would like to call on you all to support the club in a very basic way which is to get up to the clubrooms when they are open to buy a meal and a drink to help soften the blow to the club’s finances early in the year. We also look forward to seeing all the supporters in the red and white, back at Arkaba Oval to show support when we do get back to use our home ground advantage.
More information will follow on how we intend to open up the club and when. We thank you for your dedication, support and understanding.
On behalf of the Mt Lofty Districts Football Club Scott Taylor [President] 0418 804 768 E: president@mtloftydevils.com.au
It’s great to see some teams have started their pre-season training.
In order to keep the momentum of training going, the following directives from the HFL are designed to minimise the risk of “close contact” between players, coaches and other volunteers, so that we can try and reduce the impact of teams being unable to train and play during the season.
MASKS
Masks are not required to be worn during football training and matches, however social distancing guidelines from SA Health still need to be followed.
A mask is COMPULSORY when players, coaches and other club volunteers are indoors – this is not just limited to meetings within the club room facilities, it also includes instances where players are inside change room facilities either before, during or after training sessions.
Players should not be encouraged to use the change rooms unless essential and meetings should take place outdoors wherever possible. Any activity inside any of the Club facilities requires that masks be worn at all times as per the current SA Health directives.
CLOSE CONTACTS
The SAPOL COVID-19 Coordination Group has provided clarification around the application of the close contact guidelines.
For a person to be considered to have close personal interaction it must include all of the following conditions:
for 15 minutes or more; and
where masks are not worn by the person and the COVID-19 case; and
Where a positive COVID-19 case is confirmed to have participated in a training or match activity, each individual and/or parent/guardian needs to make their own assessment as to whether they (or their child) meets ALL of the above criteria.
There needs to be an element of common sense when assessing the above and we respect the decisions made by parents in relation to their children’s participation.
Any individual that is considered to be a close contact or is displaying any symptoms of COVID-19 should follow the directions regarding isolation and quarantine requirements, as published by SA Health and SAPOL.
Please be aware that the guidelines around 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 are SA Dept of Education guidelines and do not apply to external/club sport activities.
The HFL Board will continue to provide updated information as we will share this as we receive it.
We look forward to working together to ensure that the impact of COVID-19 on the 2022 season is kept to a minimum and as restrictions continue to ease we will provide clubs with updates and guidance.
Should you wish to discuss any of these matters, please feel free to contact myself of the club Secretary
In preparation for pre-season training and regular training for 2022, Mount Lofty District FC wants to ensure all players, coaches, volunteers and parents are aware of some important points in relation to the ongoing risks presented by COVID.
As the Omicron variant is now prevalent within our society, odds would suggest that at some point, our senior and junior football programs will be affected by someone contracting COVID or being a close contact of someone who has COVID – especially the Omicron variant.
If you contract COVID, you need to isolate away from the group for 10 days after your positive COVID-19 PCR / RAT test – SA Health guidelines.
If you are deemed a close contact of someone with COVID (living with/intimate with or have spent more than 15 mins without a mask indoors with someone who has tested positive), you are required to have a COVID-19 test immediately (RAT or PCR), have a further test on day 6 (RAT or PCR) and quarantine away from the group for 7 days. The day of exposure is counted as day 0.
We are now entering the pre-season phase of training where we need to do what we can to minimise the number of people who contract COVID, or who are deemed close contacts, at any one point in time.
The information provided in this letter has been sourced from the Adelaide Footy League, SANFL, SA Government and SA Health.
The club has an expectation that all players, coaches, and volunteers will do everything within their power to minimise the risk of contracting COVID, and minimising the people they come into contact with, in order to reduce the risk of being a close contact. On that basis, please consider the following:
All Players, coaches and volunteers must sign in on arrival. Either scan the QR code which will be provided at all training sessions (you must have the mySA GOV app downloaded onto your phone to do this) or see your Coach/Team Manager who will show you how to sign in manually.
Players will again be required to get changed in small groups or ideally, arrive at training dressed and ready to go and leave immediately after training.
Masks & Social Distancing
Maintain 1.5m distance always, other than while participating in training drills.
SA Health has now implemented a 1 person per 4m2 protocol while indoors.
Trainers/Coaches to wear Masks whilst at training.
Training
All outdoor main training sessions are full contact with no restriction on numbers, with the following guidelines:
Still to be no tight huddles at training.
No sharing water bottles/towels.
Keep tackling drills or close physical contact drills to a minimum and no more than 15 minutes.
Hand sanitiser to be made available at all training sessions.
Footballs and any other equipment used to be wiped prior to and after use.
Current Vaccination Requirement for Trainings
At this stage, the club has not mandated players and volunteers to be double vaccinated. We are confident and comfortable with the level of hygiene and COVID-safe practises we have implemented and continue to practise amongst our coaching staff and teams.
Should you wish to discuss any of these matters, please feel free to contact myself of the club Secretary
U8: $195 ($150* full price) Early Bird Voucher Code: F69FBEC7 Inclusions: training top or playing guernsey Click here to register: https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/dc1c2d
U9 to U11: $240 ($260* full price) Early Bird Voucher Code: F69FBEC7 Inclusions: training top or playing guernsey Click here to register: https://www.playhq.com/afl/register/dc1c2d
Note: Any registrations after 28 February 2022 will not be eligible for inclusions.
This year a new portal is being used by both HFL and SANFL to manage player registrations – PlayHQ. Please follow the registration links to complete registration.
