Representative Photo by TOI

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Friday allowed the stadia and sports complexes in the state to open for outdoor training of international and national-level athletes.
They also issued the Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) for resumption of training activities of sportspersons in the state preparing for national and international events. However, gyms and swimming pools will remain closed while no spectators will be allowed inside the stadiums for now.
No dates have been mentioned though as to when the stadiums can finally open.
The athletes who are willing to resume outdoor practice will need to sign a consent form declaring their knowledge of all the risks associated with training under the current Covid-19 scenario. The use of Aarogya Setu app was also made mandatory for all athletes, coaches and staff at the SDAT centres.
The athletes, though, have been barred from sharing training equipment, mats, drinking bottles and towels. They are to maintain a distance of two metre from each other and one metre with their coach while no physical contact, including handshakes, hugs, high-fives, is allowed. They are also prohibited from spitting on the field of play.
For team sports like football, hockey, volleyball, training activities might be performed in small groups of 8-10 players while the pitch shall be divided into three-four areas with two players in each space.
Former India captain and Chennai Hockey Association (CHA) president V Baskaran said that it is a step in the right direction. “I have been telling it for a while now that athletes should be allowed to train at least thrice a week for one hour each. The opening of stadiums will certainly enable and motivate the athletes,” Baskaran told TOI.
The 69-year-old Olympics gold medallist though feels TN should also extend the SOPs to state-level athletes. “Barring a few, there are hardly any national and international-level athletes practising in the state. So the SDAT and TN government should also gradually open it for state-level athletes and coaches… These are the people who are most affected by the closure of sports facilities,” said Baskaran.
Monitoring management committee to be formed: The government order also stated that a monitoring and management committee (MMC) comprising coaching staff of various disciplines will be constituted to guide the athletes at various Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) venues. The MMC will be responsible in ‘supervising security arrangements at entry points, monitoring the athletes’ movements, managing number (of athletes) at training to maintain social distancing norms, modifying training times to ensure presence of fewer people’ among other precautionary measures.
The other safety norms put in place also include thermal screening at the ‘only one’ entry and exit point into the stadium, wearing masks all the time except training and using of sanitisers regularly.
The state order also mentioned that the sports facilities won’t shut down even if an athlete or a coach is found to be Covid positive. “The affected zone should be cleaned and disinfected immediately and work in the area resume only on the following day,” the order said.
It was not long ago when sports facilities in the city like the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium was being used as a sheltering centre for migrants. The order, therefore, mentions strictly that the all the stadiums need to be disinfected thoroughly before handed over to the athletes. “The safety of the athletes is paramount. All areas including playing surfaces and washrooms shall be disinfected,” it stated.
No SOPs for cricket mentioned
With cricket not falling under the ambit of SAI and SDAT, the re-opening of cricket stadiums and SOPs for cricketers in the state haven’t featured in the order released by TN government on Friday. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association had already written to the Greater Chennai Corporation commissioner G Prakash a few weeks ago requesting permission for resumption of training of international and national-level cricketers.