This is a difficult time for everyone, Sutton Sting therefore suggest the following to work alongside government and EIHA guidance. Please note this was written today prior to the Prime Ministers press conference at 4.50pm, so there may be further changes tomorrow in respect to non essential social contact, which includes sports.

The core is providing good sanitation and minimising contact where reasonable whilst protecting the emotional wellbeing of our young people, i.e. not scaring them, whilst encouraging good hygienic practices in everything we do.

It is important that we all do our best to ensure that our player’s lives and therefore wellbeing is disrupted as little as possible and as always, everyone should continue to promote good hand and respiratory hygiene:

Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after using public transport. Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze, then bin the tissue and wash your hands (or use a sanitiser gel). Using the catch it, Bin it, Kill it campaign.

Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

In a sport such as ours close contact is inevitable. The club will be implementing the following practices;

Current guidance includes reminders that this is a virus not a bacteria and therefore soap is as effective as sanitiser.

Ensure players have clearly identified water bottles and are briefed only to use their own bottle. Players without bottles could be asked to leave training to avoid use of another bottle.

Changing rooms are out of bounds until further notice. Players must arrive to training and games in sweats and partially dressed.

Players to remain in sweats after training and go home to shower.

There will be no hand to hand contact using glove fist bumps or elbow bumps.

Refrain from training if feeling unwell or if living in a household where a member is self isolating and /or displaying symptoms.

We encourage individuals to carry their own sanitiser or small bottle of hand soap (hotel size bottles for example).

If a player needs to cough on the ice they must does so into their elbow and into a tissue wherever possible, dispose of the tissue immediately afterwards.

We thank you for your cooperation and support during these challenging times.

Regards