Return to Play FAQs
After reading the latest guidance you may have questions about how you can safely get back on court, so we have compiled a list of you most Frequently Asked Questions.
If you cannot find the answer to your question, please contact us we will provide a response. For additional information or further FAQs, please visit Sport England website
General FAQs
Face coverings are no longer required by law, but the Government expects and recommends that people should continue to wear them in crowded and enclosed settings. Participants do not need to wear a face covering while taking part in activity. Coaches are not required to wear face coverings while present in a work or volunteering capacity. Venues may decide to implement local measures, such as the wearing of face masks to and from sessions, so clubs and players should also follow the guidance of your venue and any local recommendations that may be in place. For those participating in tournaments and competitions, organisers may require you to where masks whilst not playing to help manage minimise risk and manage anxieties.
There is no legal requirement requiring participants to undertake lateral flow tests or use self-certification before attending badminton activity. However, your sport provider may ask you to take a Covid19 test before participating in activity. This helps them ensure that sport can take place safely.
If someone tests positive for coronavirus, they must share information promptly and accurately about recent contacts through NHS Test and Trace to help them alert other people who may need to self-isolate. It’s a legal requirement to self-isolate if someone tests positive or are told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace. You could be fined if you do not self-isolate. Government has stated that from the 16th August people that have received both vaccinations will not be required to self-isolate. It is recommended you keep up to date with Government guidance in this regard.
If you have been asked to isolate by NHS Test and Trace because you are a contact of a known COVID-19 case, do not exercise outside your own home or garden and do not exercise with others; you can spread the virus to others even if you never get symptoms. You should follow NHS guidance on testing and self-isolation.
Research and evidence is still being developed in terms of the transmission of Covid19 by those who have been vaccinated. As such, the Government advises that those who have been vaccinated should continue to follow the guidelines in place relating to their roadmap. This includes local, Government and Badminton England guidance.
Badminton Activity FAQs
There are no legal restrictions relating to play and all forms of badminton activity are permitted. This includes casual, organised, singles and doubles.
There are no legal limits on group sizes for activity and no indoor capacity limits. There is no longer the need for groups to follow the rule of six although they may wish to consider how they best manage their sessions to minimise risk.
Whilst all legal restrictions are being lifted from step four (19th July) of the Government’s roadmap clubs, groups and coaches may wish to continue with certain measures to minimise risk and alleviate any concerns their players and members have in relation to returning to play. This is the jurisdiction of the club, coach or group lead.
Yes – competition is allowed during step four (19th July) of the Government roadmap and there are no legal restrictions in relation to the type of competition or group sizes.
There is no longer a legal requirement for participants to pre-book onto sessions. Some clubs, groups and coaches may wish to continue with this measure to minimise risk and because it has helped make managing a session easier. We will continue to offer our Discover Badminton tool free of charge to help administer this.
Yes – supervision and spectating are allowed and there is no legal capacity in relation to these. Venues may wish to impose their own measures locally to minimise risk and clubs, groups and coaches should adhere to these.
Some players will be anxious about returning to play without restrictions after such a long period of time. You should take to talk with these players and understand their concerns and if there is anything that can be done to overcome them. You could also consider keeping some measures in place to alleviate initial fears about returning to play and should promote what is being done by your venue to minimise risk to those participating in activity.
There is no longer a legal requirement to have a Covid19 Officer in place for organised activity. However, clubs and groups may wish to continue to have a lead type officer role in place to help manage sessions and minimise risk.
Providers are required to continue to carry out a risk assessment that includes risks from Covid19 and should consider points in the rest of this guidance. Whilst legal restrictions have been removed, Covid19 is still very prevalent in the wider community and, as such, we will continue to provide our risk assessment template for clubs, groups and coaches to use in our Return to Play Hub.
It is recommended that clubs and coaches organising sessions should ensure that hand sanitiser is available for players. It is recommended that sharing equipment is minimised where possible. If equipment needs to be shared, it should be cleaned between users, where possible. You should avoid sharing water bottles and other refreshment containers.
Injuries should still be treated, as participant safety is of the utmost importance. You should take care to protect yourself and others through rigorous cleaning and personal hygiene, including increasing the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting equipment and surfaces. Wearing face coverings is recommended, where this is possible and practical.
After contact with an injured participant, you should clean their hands thoroughly with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitiser at the earliest opportunity. This advice is applicable to all situations, regardless of whether there was close contact. You should also avoid touching their mouth, eyes, and nose where possible.
Advice on catering for disabled players can be found in our Disability Considerations Guide.
Venues FAQs
There are no legal restrictions in place from Step 4 preventing a facility from being open. However, certain local measures or situations may mean some facilities remain closed for certain activities and bookings. This may particularly be the case for schools who may still be implementing their own measures to ensure the safety pupils and staff. We are actively working to help get more facilities reopened, in order for us to understand these challenges, please let us know if your facility is open or closed by completing our Return to Play – Venue Feedback Form. Further information about our facility support and guidance can be found here or search for venue near you.
Through our Return to Play – venue feedback form. It is important that we are aware of the local and national picture when it comes to facilities so we can share this information with the badminton community and can focus our support where it is needed most. We therefore appreciate you updating us on your facility’s situation. For open facilities it allows us to share this information with the badminton community so we can work together to help more people get back on court. We are also keen to hear if your venue has to remain closed for the time being so that we can help our clubs and coaches find alternatives so they can return to play.
Indoor facilities are permitted to open as part of step four (19th July). The decision to reopen school facilities to community users is the jurisdiction of the school itself so discussions will be needed locally to determine the situation relating to your facility. Badminton England have developed resources to support these discussions, available in our return to play hub, and have developed partnerships with school facility management companies to ensure a safe return to a number of school venues as soon as possible.
Whilst legal restrictions in relation to activity and indoor venues are being lifted from step four of the Government’s roadmap, businesses are being encouraged to maintain any measures they feel are appropriate and that minimise risk. Therefore, venues may decide to implement their own measures in terms of usage and activity which clubs, groups and coaches should adhere to. You are advised to check with your venue before playing.
From step four of the Government roadmap there are no legal indoor capacity limits. However, venues may feel it appropriate to impose local measures, such as capacity limits, to ensure the safety of their users and these clubs, groups and coaches should adhere to these measures.
Travel FAQs
Yes – no restrictions on domestic travel for sport and physical activity.
Yes – car sharing is permitted but you should consider what you can do to minimise the risk where this is required such as wearing a face covering whilst travelling.
Yes – teams can travel together in a minibus for fixtures and sessions but should consider what can be done to minimise risk such as asking players to wear a face covering whilst travel.
Yes – overnight stays and room sharing are permitted from step four of the Government roadmap.
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