IT is said that when we finally emerge from this whole pandemic affair, the mental health consequences will be just as severely felt as any of the physical effects of lockdown and /or the infection itself.
For many people, watching sport was and is a huge part of their lives.
Participation in team sport was a significant outlet from the stresses of a job or their own personal circumstances.
I know, from personal experience, that while the physical health benefits are clearly felt, it is as much about ‘showering the head’ as it is benefitting the heart.
I cannot say I have been inconvenienced too much- after all it is the front line workers who are being overworked and traumatised at health and social care level.
I would say that post-traumatic stress arising from this virus’s legacy will be something they will have to live with for a long time.
Sport may help to heal this, not only from a participation level but also at spectator level.
Whether this is a return to action on the field or court, Sport will play a huge part in trying to normalise life and heal large sections of an individual fragile mentalities.
And of course the GAA will have a large part to play in all of this in this country.
The challenge of not having any sport to watch (either in person or on TV) is huge – I realise it is of no importance overall when life and death is at stake.
I know we need to protect the vulnerable and elderly and almost anyone really.
And we need to be conscious of trivialising this entire circumstance we find ourselves in – there are real people and families left behind in the wake of spiralling levels of fatalities.
Funerals and wakes have all become abnormal – that great tradition of attending a wake house and sharing stories and memories is gone for now.
This again, was unthinkable at one time.
Sport in general will be in a no win situation if and when the decision to resume activities is deemed appropriate.
Too soon and it risks the ‘second wave’ which I personally believe is probable given that society has to open up at some stage.
By not returning to activities, we run the risk of businesses failing, an economic disaster that none of us have seen before and indirectly this will all lead to this huge impact on large numbers of people’s mental and physical health.
Sport without fans is not something we ever envisaged.
I would contend though that, subject to people wearing the right PPE which is hugely important, we could begin to return to stadiums to watch games, at reduced capacity levels.
If stewarded correctly, in a stadium of 10,000, could say 3,000 attend if properly equipped and controlled, including temperature checked?
In allocating seating, you could distance yourself from other individuals, again all properly ticketed and stewarded.
Again protecting the vulnerable and older members of society would have to form part of the decision making process, insisting again that only a certain part of society would be able to attend outside events.
Imagining 2020 without and All-Ireland championship or Sam Maguire – it is hard to fathom.
We (in the GAA), as an Association, should be planning for a significantly reduced timetable of fixtures.
The league should be voided at this stage.
It is not as important as the Championship.
Start afresh next season.
The 'B' tier Championship would also have to be voided for now - again perhaps this will be for another time (next year most probably).
A straight knock-out championship is the only viable solution, operating with a ticket only attendance at a certain capacity- be it only 5,000 maximum.
Half a loaf is better than no bread.
Strict guidelines for entering and exiting grounds will be paramount.
There will be no ‘Clones’ style congregating in the pubs around the ground - these will have to be closed.
Unfortunate for the businesses concerned, nonetheless necessary.
Akin to the return of the Premier League, GAA players, officials and backroom staff will need tested for temperatures and other COVID-19 signs of infection - the reality being that this will need to be done within society anyway at some point in most communities.
Of course, this is all voluntary, no-one who doesn’t want to be there, shouldn’t.
When society is taking its first steps into opening up, we all have to be aware is that the virus will not have disappeared- most likely it will still affect a great deal many until a vaccine becomes available.
And even then, it appears uncertain from what I am reading, that the virus doesn’t mutate further so making life much harder for those seeking to eradicate it via mass vaccination.
Viewing sport on TV will be strange with reduced spectator levels and the inevitable loss of atmosphere.
I just hope that, given the circumstances, the paywalls that have been in place are somehow temporarily suspended for now.
Until society opens up without restrictions.
Hopefully we are past the peak of this pandemic.
Perhaps like many others, I am rather confused with the roadmap out of this.
I would hazard a guess and suggest that the same people who led society into this crisis have no more of a clue in how to take us out.
The lack of hope in how and when Sport begins to start back at competition level is, I believe, affecting the mental health of many fans, spectators and players.
Unfortunately we have to face the fact that had contact tracing and testing been done earlier and at levels seen in South Korea, we would already be at the stage of returning to ‘new’ normal levels (until this vaccine is secured).
That ship has sailed and we have to live with all its consequences as a result.
Planning, Protection and Prevention (I call them the 3 P's) will be vital and starting this process at community and importantly, GAA Association level, as soon as possible, so we are ready to go when deemed safely viable is vital.
All Sports will become a significant life-line for many players, supporters and of course to the Associations themselves, be it Soccer, Rugby or the GAA.
Waiting for a vaccine – how is this deemed as a viable strategy as regards to opening up Sport?
We will have to adjust to new ‘normals’ and this will take those ‘3-P’s’.
Not starting back is just not an option for me.
