Late last week, England Hockey announced that they would proceed to ‘Step 5 – Returning to Competitive Hockey’ at the end of September (26th), or the start of October (3rd). What does this mean to you? It means that we’ll be back to playing league hockey matches soon - HOORAY!

You’ll have an update on the following;

Update on a return to adult competitive matches.
Update on a return to junior training.
What you need to do to return to playing hockey.

What does this mean for adult matches?

I can already hear the questions – ‘if we’re going back to matches, does that mean we have access to Challney or a pitch’?

With the England Hockey’s recent announcement, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has instructed the Department for Education to accelerate community access to sports facilities. On top of that, we’re talking with Chiltern Learning Trust on how Luton Town HC can return safely and promptly return to Challney. As a precaution, to give us a little bit more time, we are reversing home fixtures with our opposition – where possible. Where that isn’t possible, these fixtures will go ahead at an alternative venue.

What does this mean for training and juniors?

As part of our contingency plans, until Challney is available, we’re talking to venue providers about bookings starting within the next 2 – 3 weeks. Once confirmed, we’ll communicate out the plan on how we return and what the ‘new normal` will look like for these sessions.

What do you need to do?

i. Sign England Hockey’s – Participation Agreement ASAP. If you don’t sign this, you cannot return to playing, coaching or umpiring: https://forms.office.com/FormsPro/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=NvkYmuiQxU--asEa8eSc6g-NqKCAUipGoe_luyiEaiZUMlE4NUVKRDZENzJGNUtNVEE5NVlXME9ETC4u
ii. Sign up for your annual subscriptions – we will not be accepting cash or cheque payments due to COVID. Payment methods such as debit card, credit card, direct debit and bank transfers are all available. www.lutontownhc.com/payments

What have we been doing?

The team (Anwar Yusuf, Robin Barnes, Iain Starkey and James Wallis) have been working non-stop and continualness for the last eight weeks seeking alternative venues and putting a plan together to return to hockey at Challney. Utilising members professional expertise LTHC has a risk assessment – thank you, Helen Beattie – as well as conducting site visits to potential venues. Next, we’ll be creating policies and procedures to enable a safe return for all members - following England Hockey’s guidelines.

Our next update will be on how we return – the new normal.

Should you have any questions, please email treasurer@lutontownhc.com. We will come back to you within 48 hours, if not sooner.

All the best.
Luton Town HC