RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGE OF COVID-19
After having to close our club on March 16th 2020 due to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, Dolphin IBC stood silent until restrictions were eased to permit the club to re-open its doors on July 27th 2020.
Building upon the experiences on the local outdoor bowls clubs, who had to put in significant measures to enable outdoor bowling to take place in a SAFE & COVID-19 Secure way, the staff and Board at Dolphin IBC knew they could do the same with good planning, clear communication and a positive attitude.
COVID-19 Secure measures now in place include:
- Automatic Temperature check terminal on entry
- Face coverings MANDATORY on entering the club, in the changing rooms and moving around the lounge and catering areas
- Face coverings OPTIONAL in the Bowls Hall
- Perspex screens at Reception, Shop & Bar
- Taping off alternate chairs to facilitate social distancing
- "Fogging" machine used daily throughout the entire club to sanitise ALL surfaces (including all soft furnishings)
- Table Service introduced by the catering franchise in the dining areas
- Extra hand sanitiser at Reception and entrance foyer
- Hand Sanitiser & Anti-bacterial wipes on ALL ELEVEN rinks (at both ends)
- Socially Distancing wall banners and Pull-up banners throughout the club (VERY visible)
- No rolling of jacks
- No sharing of mats
- At the end of EVERY match / roll up, members clean the mats, jacks, grab rails and scoreboard buttons so they are ready for the following session (congratulations to everyone for helping out and keeping everyone safe)
- 15mins break introduced in between each 2 hour bowling session to allow for the cleaning of the equipment above and to enable bolwers to clear the bowls hall
- NEW way of playing Triples matches
- after the two leads have bowled, they go up the far end and social distance OFF the green
- after the two number 2's have bowled they go up the far end, rossing over with the Skips (only four bowlers moving instead of the normal six bowlers)
- HOME team ONLY touch & place the lounge end mat, AWAY team ONLY touch & place the far end mat
- Moving to a "cashless" payment system with the help of B4B and their superb BOWLR software
How the Membership reacted to the above
- 83% of our membership re-joined by October 1st 2020
- 83% of League teams started the Autumn season on Sept 28th 2020, using all eleven rinks for Triples matches
No doubt the winter months will prove bumpy with the usual increase in respiratory conditions (colds & flu), but there is now some light at the end of the tunnel, If we all continue to work together, our great club will continue to thrive!!
