And still, we wait.
Sporting bodies across the widest spectrum have taken an extra 24 hours after the announcement of lockdown to clarify what their individual position is regarding participation.
The elite level of sport including Rugby, Soccer and Gaelic Games, as well as horse and greyhound racing, have been given ‘permission’ by the Government to continue. So too has ‘non-contact training for school-aged children in pods of 15’.
There is also a specific exemption in government documentation for travelling outside the 5 KM limit ‘to take school-aged children to permitted training as provided for in the Exercise and Sporting section.
Across the country whats app and other mobile messaging services have hummed with questions, then with confirmations, that training will go ahead in gaelic games, rugby and football, ‘once we get the official nod’.
And still, we wait.
The wording is being taken as a clear indication for team sports at the highest level to continue but there has been no guidance yet issued by any of the three major sporting bodies.
They are no doubt taking heed of the anger and unease, stirred by sections of the media about sport being allowed to continue at a time when everyone who doesn’t play is being asked to stay at home and restrict their engagement with other human beings as much as possible. Well, kind of.
Liveline on RTÉ Radio One provides an everyday stopping point for those with loud gripes. Yesterday it rang with condemnation of the GAA in particular. There were County Champions named across different codes in most counties, hundreds at each of the different levels but because of video clips of celebrations at a small number, everyone is being tarred with the same brush as ‘wantonly careless super spreaders.’
Liz Kearney is the Features Editor at the Irish Independent. In today’s paper, she writes “So this is what happens when the Lads are left in charge. You can’t visit your parents this side of Christmas, but you can watch Kerry take on Donegal at the weekend. You can’t go for a walk with your best friends, but the Ireland-Italy rugby match will go ahead as planned. Three cheers for the Lads.”
Charged
She rounds out the similarly charged piece by saying “I couldn’t care less who wins the Six Nations or lifts the Sam Maguire, but I would really, really like to see my parents.”
There is criticism of the unconscious bias she says has crept in towards sport as being a panacea, though her own unconscious bias that sport is for the Lads is also out of step. Still, the point of repeating it is that she is not alone.
67 per cent of an RTÉ survey on Monday night felt the Championships in Gaelic Games should not go ahead, and even within players, 24 per cent said they were not comfortable in playing.
In March there was one sharp stroke. Everything was stopped from school to retail, sport to straying beyond 2 kilometres. No exceptions other than for essential services that were clearly defined. We were shocked but we knuckled down because everyone was in the same boat.
Squinting Windows
This time is different and it is bringing out the worst in the ‘squinting windows’ side of us that occasionally emerges. Why should a bicycle repair shop be classed as essential but not a book store? Why should I be able to buy a flat-screen TV because the shop sells computers for home working but I can’t go to a funeral?
Why should they be able to travel all over because they belong to a GAA team but my kids can’t because their role models are Diversity rather than O’Dwyers?
This is where the social contract of all being in it together gets pulled and stretched. Social media amplifies it and then it appears on primetime.
And still, we wait
Swim Ireland, Judo and Table Tennis have issued confirmation about the playing of their sports. Everybody else is waiting. They are waiting on guidance from Sport Ireland and the Expert Group that was set up as a conduit between sport and Government.
They are waiting on their own ‘Return to Play’ groups who in turn are carefully watching the public mood.
They will issue guidance today from the GAA to Golf, from Rugby to Running, Soccer to Sailing and all points in between.
We had hoped to cover their different reactions and protocols yesterday. We will do so today. Because at midnight tonight, we are in lockdown, more or less.
So for now, we wait.
Sport for Business Partners
