Around 100,000 children and young people in more than 3,400 clubs in Lower Austria will be able to do sports again from Monday. After a long break, soccer fields, athletics facilities and other sports facilities open their doors. The online training then gives way to joint exercise in the great outdoors.
No test requirement for children
In an interview with noe.ORF.at, state association president Gottfried Lammerhuber confirms that the athletics clubs are looking forward to the easing. “We’ve been scraping the starting blocks for weeks and months. In this respect, we are in good spirits that everything will work from Monday. “
But there are guidelines: From Monday, sport is only allowed for children and young people up to the age of 18 – and only if it takes place outdoors, the group size of a maximum of ten people is not exceeded and there is no physical contact. Coronavirus tests are only mandatory for the trainers and supervisors, but not for the children. However, there must be a prevention concept.
Normal soccer training is not possible
How difficult or easy it is to stick to these rules depends on the sport. “In athletics we can do without physical contact,” says Lammerhuber. “With the exception of a baton handover, we can do everything wonderfully. The group size is limiting, but that is also possible for us. “
In team sports like soccer, things are different. At SV Oberndorf an der Melk (Scheibbs district) they are happy about the relaxation, but normal football training is not possible from Monday. That is why those responsible for the association around Franz Punz have to be creative. “You can do a lot in terms of fitness and technique, but you have to put the playful and tactical aside.”
Relaxation as the first step
Specifically, this means that passing and shooting exercises, in which the distance can be maintained, are allowed. However, a training match is prohibited. That is a shame, said Punz, but the attitude still remains positive. “We have eight youth teams with 130 children in the club. In the last few months I have often feared that one or the other would leave us because nothing was going on. “
Even in Purgstall an der Erlauf (Scheibbs district), a few kilometers away, one looks forward to the relaxation with anticipation. For Gerhard Plank, the chairman of the local sports association, they can only be the first step. “Better than not at all. But I hope that we will soon be able to carry out contact training again and that we can play football properly, as we are used to. “
–
