thanks,
LugarnoFC Committee

Lugarno FC would like to welcome everyone back to football. We hope all the players, coaches, managers, family and friends enjoyed the first week back as much as we did! We have had fantastic feedback regarding the new fields, canteen, change rooms and amenities.

However, we are living in unprecedented times and in order to keep the games going and players on the field we have to adhere to the guidelines defined by the health authorities and government.

We have new bright yellow Perimeter Ropes which we have used to create one large playing zone around all of the junior playing fields. Only Players, Coaches and Managers are allowed in the playing zone, please refer to the image below. You will notice on the diagram that the green area is the acceptable spectating area and the red area is the playing zone.

Due to the current advice from the relevant authorities all supporters MUST say outside the playing zone and responsibly maintain social distancing. We appreciate that while these measures might seem excessive to some and frustrating to others, it is our way of doing our bit to protect out players and their families while ensuring that we can continue and finish the season.

Thank you all for your cooperation.

Do your boys & girls want an extra kick around before the season officially starts on the 18^th of July or do you just want to get some time to yourself in the middle of the school holidays, well then our Club Coaching Director (UEFA A Licence holder) Dejan Lukic & his team will be hosting the Lugarno FC – Holiday Winter Clinic from 9am to 1pm, Monday 13^th of July till Wednesday 15^th of July at our home ground Gannons Park. So if your child wants to be in a group with hard working and friendly kids who want to improve their football game in the beautiful surrounds of our house – Gannon’s Park, then come join us.

Price for the 3 days is $150 which includes water & fruit each day, with a lunch provided on the last day.

Register now on the below link:

https://lugarnofc.com.au/winterholidayclinic/

And Welcome to Everyone, not just current Lugarno FC players.

Message from Lugarno FC President Hagop Tchamkertenian regarding imminent resumption of training.

Lugarno FC is excited and looks forward to the resumption of training after Football NSW removed the ban they had initiated on training. We are now waiting to be provided with the green light by our association the SGFA to commence training at Gannons Park.

When the SGFA advises Lugarno FC that we can resume training, we will advise all our teams and members accordingly.

It is important to remember that when training resumes at Gannons Park, it will be done under strict guidelines to manage COVID-19. This means we have certain protocols we need to introduce and follow to ensure that training is both enjoyable and safe for all members of our football community.

It is critical that all Lugarno FC players, parents, team officials, and supporters familiarise themselves with and follow the return to training guidelines that have been issued by FNSW. The guidelines have already been circulated to our team officials and they can be accessed via the following link:

Additional FNSW return to training resources are also available via the following link:

Return to Training Resources

It is becoming a bit of a cliche but to manage the “new normal” we need to remain diligent and abide by the health guidelines. The virus has not gone away and is likely to be with us for the foreseeable future. We have been given the opportunity to resume training activities with certain limitations aimed at promoting public safety.

The key new training guidelines are:

•Team officials need to keep an attendance record of players involved in training seasons. They can either use the FNSW template or take photos of the training session. These attendance records are essential as they will be used if there is a need to undertake contact tracing.
•Hand wash or sanitisers need to be provided for the training groups. Coaches and Managers need to manage this for their group.
•The maximum number for a training group is 10 people including team officials.
•There is to be no contact skills training, participants need to maintain social distancing and practice good hygiene such as regular washing of hands with soap and/or sanitisers.
•Drink bottles and bibs must not be shared and training equipment must be sanitised before and after each training session.
•Players from one team must not mingle with players from another team.
•When training finishes the expectation is for players and team officials to head straight home and not to socialise with others.
•Parents are encouraged to drop their kids to training and pick them up instead of remaining at the park. If some parents have to remain at the park during training, they must remain at a certain distance from training activities.
•Under no circumstances is anyone permitted to attend training whilst unwell. The simple message remains: if your unwell or have the symptoms of COVID-19 then you must stay away from training and get tested for COVID-19 as soon as possible.
•Anyone who has been tested for COVID-19 must not engage in any football activities until they have received a negative result.

As a football community, we must do the right thing and respect and abide by these guidelines. If we collectively remain disciplined then we have the opportunity to progress quickly to the next step and participate in games.

While some factors will always remain beyond our immediate control, others are dependant on both our behaviour, actions and adherence to the training rules.

Lugarno FC requests all players, parents and team officials to remain diligent and follow all rules and directives issued by the club, the SGFA and Football NSW.

We can play football, we can have fun, but we have to do it in a safe and responsible manner.

Lugarno FC welcomes you back to football.

Yours in football

Hagop Tchamkertenian
President
Lugarno FC

An update from Football NSW CEO Stuart Hodge.

=========

Dear all,

I wish to briefly update you on the rapidly changing circumstances surrounding COVID-19 as they relate to football.

As much as I understand everyone’s enthusiasm and excitement about the potential return to training, and in due course, a return to play, again I ask for everyone’s patience while we wait for additional information to be released by the NSW Government and while we finalise our Return to Training resources.

Here is how we are planning our next steps:

1. Earlier today, FFA released a Statement (Circular No.20-10) titled Game Plan for Resuming Grassroots Football in Australia, whereby it essentially lifted its national temporary suspension of grassroots football activities, recognising the easing, to varying degrees, of COVID-19 related restrictions by the States and Territories of Australia. The Circular is available here;
2. that on Friday, 15 May 2020, the NSW Government is expected to confirm that, from that date,  outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people will be allowed;
3. Following this announcement and the change to the Public Health Order, we are told to expect the release of a framework from the NSW Office of Sport which will expand upon the relaxation of social distancing measures from a sporting perspective;
4. In anticipation of this, Football NSW has been working with Northern NSW Football and Capital Football (ACT) on a set of resources to assist the football community understand what this means with regard to returning to training. These resources include Return to Training Guidelines , a two page Return to Train Checklist and finally, a ‘Return to Training’ colour poster that can be printed out and displayed at venues, clubs and facilities and disseminated widely to parents and players.  These resources will be tabled at, and considered by, the Football NSW Board at its meeting on Thursday, 14 May 2020);
5. These resources flow on from and are in alignment with previous information provided by the Federal Government through the AIS’ Reboot Framework as well as the FFA guidelines (of several weeks ago), albeit with specific reference to football and developed locally for the NSW environment;
6. Following the release of the NSW Office of Sport’s framework, we will make any necessary adjustments, seek the Office of Sport approval (especially in relation to number of players per pitch) and provide these Resources (the Guidelines etc) to you as soon as practically possible;
7. All being well, this may occur on Friday, however for planning purposes, I would suggest that we work towards next Monday (18 May 2020) so as to allow some slippage in time, especially since we are waiting on the Office of Sport;
8. In support of these Resources, Football NSW is planning to host a webinar/teleconference session on Tuesday evening (19 May 2020, exact time to be advised) during which we will walk Associations, Clubs and coaches/volunteers through the Resources. During that presentation, our Technical staff will also provide coaches with some ideas as to how to best conduct sessions when constrained to no more than 10 people and so on;
9. It is our intention to broadly publicise this session to as many people as possible but to also record it for dissemination the next day to those people unable to join us live;
10. With all of the above in mind, it is unlikely we will be able to return to training until at least Wednesday, 20 May 2020 and this too may change.  It is our shared objective that as many people as possible watch, learn, implement and follow these guidelines in the interests of everyone’s health and safety. I cannot stress enough that the failure to comply with these guidelines may end up jeopardising or delaying further our full return to competition. It may also jeopardise the constructive and valuable relationship we’ve built with the State Government as being a real leader amongst the state sporting entities.

As always, I commit to keeping everyone informed as we progress this.

Again, thank you for your ongoing cooperation, support and assistance during this difficult period.

Stay safe!

Regards,

Stuart