“Prac­ti­cable solu­tion” found

The new regulation issued by the Ministry of Health published on Friday caused confusion in organised Austrian sport, but a solution has now been found. Above all, the rule stating that no more than ten people may participate indoors in events/courses in individual sports (without allocated and marked seats) would, without clarification from the ministry, have severely restricted grassroots, fitness and health sport.

Agreement has now been reached on how the wording of the regulation is to be understood in practical terms for sport: several groups of ten people each may train simultaneously at a sports facility, provided that mixing between the groups can be ruled out. Had the wording of the regulation been interpreted differently, many children, young people and adults would no longer have been able to take part in courses from Monday.

Sport-Austria President Hans Niessl: “I am pleased that a practicable solution has been found. Without clarification, our 15.000 sports clubs would no longer have been able to support thousands of people wishing to exercise from Monday. Especially during the coronavirus crisis, when the immune system should be strengthened through sport and exercise according to the WHO and IOC, this would have been disastrous. Looking ahead, it is to be hoped that organised sport – with 2,1 million members, the country’s third-largest organisation after the Catholic Church and the Chamber of Labour – will also be substantially involved in coordinating regulations affecting sport when things have to happen quickly. This would save both sides unnecessary concern and, above all, serve the purpose of the matter: the successful fight against the coronavirus. Naturally, ministries often have to respond quickly during the coronavirus crisis, but I can assure you that we too can contribute our expertise swiftly and deliver results quickly.”

Exempt from the maximum number of participants are those persons required for the running of the event. In sport, this includes coaches and supervisors, for example. In team sports such as football or basketball, the number of players required to play the respective sport is not to be included in the maximum number of participants.

Furthermore, the new regulation stipulates that any event with more than 250 people must be officially approved, and a COVID-19 officer is mandatory for events with more than 50 people indoors and more than 100 people outdoors.