Dear members,
Firstly, we hope you are safe and well and enjoying Christmas and the holidays as much as you possibly can.
We are halfway through the most bizarre season we have ever seen. Just like the rest of the world we have been doing our best to always operate while keeping the safety of our members as the top priority.
We continue to follow all the latest guidelines that we receive from Basketball Ireland, Sports Ireland and the HSE.
It has been great to see everyone adapting and overcoming. We have tried to find safe and creative ways for boys and girls to meet their friends, get some exercise, develop their strength and conditioning, and practice some basketball. Covid guidelines have prevented our adult members from organized training for most of the season, but we hope the videos from Basketball Ireland are of some benefit while working on your own. Rest assured we are meeting many times a week to advocate for any modification to restrictions that we think might safely allow people get more from the season.
As we turn into 2021, there are reasons for optimism in the form of vaccines, better knowledge of effective restrictions and a growing body of evidence from European leagues that strengthen our bargaining position. While all our information is subject to government guidelines and Covid numbers it is our hope to be back training and playing in February. We are also drafting contingency plans to salvage as much of the season as we can so that people continue to progress their basketball skills and enjoy themselves with their friends. These plans may be “in club” leagues, extended end dates or anything we can do to make the best of the situation in which we find ourselves. We will stay in touch as the situation changes in January.
In summary for most of the club, except super league and U20 national league, we need to get back to “Level 2” to allow some indoor training and participate in local leagues – while adhering to many other restrictions. Our super league and U20 national league team have tentative plans to go back in Late February, again subject to many restrictions.
A very special word of thanks for our coaches and assistants for finding superb new drills and rain gear to keep every session full of energy. Your commitment to basketball and to the club is carrying us through this pandemic and is hugely appreciated. This year has been very hard on our local sponsors whose ongoing support has been so important for us. Please repay their generosity by shopping locally!
Finally, we thank all our members for your patience and continued support throughout this difficult season. For now, though on behalf of everyone in the club, we wish you a very safe and restful Christmas and holiday.
Thank you
Colman O’Flynn
Chairperson