SoPs for Sporting Activities
By RK Nimai
Report of football matches R and other games is featured in both the visual and print media during the last few days. The report generally includes a disclaimer that these were con ducted under strict SOP. Unfortu- nately, there is a yet no Sop for sporting activities after the sec ond wave and who the organisers are trying to fool is a million dol lar question. Many of the match es are conducted in small artifi- cial pitches which were left un used for quite some time caus ing losses to the promoters de spite major investments. Invest ment without return at present is not restricted to such facilities but across all sectors. Further, reports are also carried out of matches organised by the Central Armed Police Forces in the interior and that also with similar disclaimer of following the SoPs. Such acts are nothing but clear violation of the general SoPs laid down which recommends a distance of 6 feet among people, proper wearing of masks and restriction of crowd.
One fails to understand why the state agencies are not tak- ing action against the violators as there are clear proofs of the violation. Such neglect only leads to further violations. Some of the matches are sponsored by intend- ing candidates for the coming gen- eral election and the question aris- es why should people vote for those who intentionally violate rules and regulations at will; once they are elected they will only con- tinue to violate laws; hitting de- mocracy to the maximum as rule of law, is one of the most impor- tant criteria of democracy.. Even public meeting with large turn- outs are shown in the visual me- dia, with the intending candidates and those gathered numbering more than a hundred with their face unmasked and here also the government agencies fails to act.
Similarly, in some ACs, door to door campaign has started with a large retinue following the in tending candidate with many not even wearing masks. Why should the public vote for such candidates who does not have the respon sibility to follow the law, rules and regulations putting at risk all those involved?
With the falling Positivity Rate which hovers around 7 to 9 quite a handful of people are coming out to play surreptitiously and some even openly; some are to select the state team while others are mainly for recreation. The long restrictions have perhaps forced many to violate the conditions of the general SoP; without under standing or assessing the risks. The Government also need to look into and the concerned de partment after widespread con sultations need to lay down fresh SoP for sporting activities and it is learnt that this is exactly what the state government is mulling and is in the process such a SoP.. issuing
However, there are various challenges in issuing SoP for sporting activities as the norms for each game is different. The games need to be classified whether it is contact, semi-contact or non contact and whether it is indoor or outdoor. Games like archery which is an outdoor sports and non-contact can be allowed sub ject to the conditions that prop er masks are donned and phys ical distance between the play ers are maintained. Further, for those who is above 18 an addi tional condition that the players and the coaches must have been fully vaccinated need to be put in place with a rider for regular RT PCR testing.
In respect of strenuous semi contact outdoor sports, limited opening can be allowed as mask cannot be used subject to the condition that the players and the support staff are fully vaccinat ed and RT-PCR test are conduct ed on a regular basis to ensure that those who return positive are isolated and treated and do not spread the disease to others. For indoor non-contact sports like weightlifting, it can be permit- ted with similar conditions be ing imposed. For contact stren uous indoor sports, perhaps the time is not yet ripe for their start. For those below 18 who cannot be vaccinated as per the present protocol and are to represent the state, limited activities may be al lowed subject to the condition that the state association takes the initiative to get them vacci- nated in view of the accentuat- ing circumstances and not leave to the players themselves as for the latter it is just not possible to do so. A declaration should mandatorily be obtained from ei- ther the players or their parents, if the player is below 18, that in the consequences of infection the association will not be held re- sponsible. In other words, the risk should be with the players or the guardians, and they should have the choice either to represent the state in national championships or not and no state association should force those unwilling to represent the state in view of the present situation.
For those under state trial cum selection camp, the best is to fol- low the bio-bubble but this is not only non-full proof and very costly. The Indian cricket which was on tour in England despite the bio S bubbles have reported testing of positive of the coach and a few support staff forcing the suspen- sion of the tour before the fifth test. It is one thing that no ac tion was taken against the coach though if it happened to other countries, the coach would have been dismissed outright as it
dicates breaking the bio-bubble protocol and putting the entire team at risk. Everything is possi ble in India with no action taken. Those associations which have the wherewithal to manage bio bubbles can be allowed to play or train but all those involved be it the coach, manager or support staff must abide by the conditions. For the players it is not so diffi- cult but for the support staff who had family to look after it is no easy job. For matches, no spec tators may be permitte
The Department of Youth Affairs & Sports in consultation with the Health and Home Departments and the concerned stakeholders such as sport associations must work together to bring out a compre hensive SoP for sporting activities failing which a free for all is antic- ipated with all following a lead er in breaking the general Sop. As mentioned above, it should divide all sporting activities into catego- ries with different sets of proto- col and those violating must be severely penalised by even with drawing all government support and those responsible prosecuted under the DM Act and the Epidem- ic Diseases Act and penalised and not just set free them after levying a nominal fine rather than a ex- emplary fine. In Singapore, even a person who comes out in pub- lic without a mask is fined 2,000 Singapore dollars pronto and none I can escape. This ensures proper abiding of the SoPs. Even in Delhi, it is better administered though in Manipur the Chalta hain atti- tude prevails and that is one rea son why the second wave refus- es to taper and is becoming pro- tracted. Issuing SoP for all games is no easy task, but efforts need to be made to develop compre- hensive guidelines which take in to consideration the safety of all concerned but also allow at least limited sporting activit
A proper monitoring mecha nism need to be put in place and all sports association that wants to conduct camps etc must inform in advance to the concerned au thority the proposed camp where it will be held and the timings for better monitoring. This also is the case with opening of ed ucational institutions, especially like universities and colleges etc where all are eligible for vaccina tion provided that only those who were fully vaccinated are permit ted and other protocols are strictly observed including students per class. Proper monitoring must be carried out and those which fail to follow the SoP are forced to close for specified period and pe nalised under the law. For chil dren, there are two opinions, one says the schools cannot be opened as the PR and the R value contin ues to be high while on the oth er hand there is a growing view point that as children even if in fected combats the disease much better, classes should be opened in phases with limited students in a classroom otherwise the chil dren loses substantially which just can't be made up. Even Sikkim which opened schools was forced to close it again after a sudden spread among school going kids. Which way, the government wants to go need to be discussed with all the stakeholders before a de cision is taken. Online classes per se is not very successful as ma ny do not have the necessary fa cilities for such innovations and divides the student community into haves and haves-not; a con cerning situation where the rich learns but the poor just don't. Mo bile phones are just not sufficient as slides etc are just too small to read and one needs either a laptop or a desktop, which majority of our students just don't have. Not to speak of students even most of the teachers just don't have.