COVID-19 Northumbria Sport Update
UPDATED 23 MARCH 2020
In light of the developing situation and government guidelines around COVID-19 we have made the decision to cease all of our upcoming sport activity and close both our Sport Facilities (Sport Central and Coach Lane Sports Centre) as of 1430 on Friday 20 March 2020.
This comes following similar decisions made by many sport National Governing Bodies (NGB’s) including the NGB for University Sport, BUCS (British University & College Sport). Northumbria University puts the safety and concerns of its students, staff and community members at the heart of this decision and we believe this is the right course of action to take in order to support the wider government strategy to tackle COVID-19.
We hope that you will understand and have patience with us as we work through what is an understandably unknown time.
We will be staying live on our social media channels and will have fitness videos available to help you keep active at home. We will also endeavour to keep you updated regularly and of course update you regarding our reopening as soon as we know when that may be.
You can keep in touch with us via Email, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Plus you can access all our ‘home workouts’ on our YouTube channel. Our APP and website will also stay updated with the latest information.
For further information on the changes to our various services please see below.
Sports Facilities and Fitness Membership
Sport Central, and the services we operate within the facility, will close from 1430 on Friday 20 March until further notice. This includes;
- Gym
- Group Exercise classes
- Swimming pool, sauna and steam room
- Sports Halls and Main arena
- Squash Courts
- Meeting spaces including Corry and pods
- Personal training and Sports Massage
Coach Lane Sport Centre will also close from 1430 on Friday 20 March 2020.
Please contact daryl.dixon@northumbria.ac.uk if you have any further questions
Student Sport Clubs, BUCS Fixtures and Campus Football Leagues
All Student Sport activity was halted at 2200 on Tuesday 17 March. This includes all BUCS competitions and events, club training sessions, team based athlete support services, committee training and campus football league fixtures. We will be in touch with members directly regarding any changes to this. Click here to read the statement from BUCS.
TASS and Scholarship Athlete support service delivery at Sport Central will be suspended from 1430 on Friday 20 March 2020.
Please contact heather.steel@northumbria.ac.uk if you have any further questions
Events and Facility Bookings
All events within Sport Central have been cancelled until 20 April 2020. We will continue to review events booked after this date and liaise directly with hirers.
All individual court and pitch bookings have been cancelled until 20 April 2020, and those who paid in advance will be refunded. We will continue to review individual court and pitch bookings after this date and liaise directly with hirers.
Please contact northumbriasportevents@northumbria.ac.uk if you have any direct questions
Student Volunteer and Internships
Our volunteer and internship opportunities are currently suspended. Our internal and external hosts are aware of this decision. We will ask hosts to get in touch if and when their activities recommence. Students that have completed their Internship will receive their payment in May as planned.
Please contact rachel.owers@northumbria.ac.uk if you have any questions.
Zambia Project
The Wallace Group Volunteer Zambia project is due to take place during summer May – October. Currently we have suspended all fundraising activities and cancelled the upcoming events including the Annual Dodgeball event. We will update on the plans for the delivery of this year’s project in due course.
UPDATE 24 March 2020: The Wallace Group have confirmed that this summer’s project will be cancelled. Northumbria, along with the other institutions, are working together to look at options for the students to travel out at a later date and also how we continue to support the ongoing activities in Lusaka this year and beyond.
Please contact jen.rudin@northumbria.ac.uk
Kids Camps and Wildcats Football
We announced the decision to cancel our upcoming Easter Kids camps on Friday 13 March to give parents more time to arrange alternatives. All current attendees will receive a full refund, and this will be processed over the coming weeks.
We have delayed the start of our 2020 Wildcats Football sessions and will confirm the start date once we have a clearer idea of when this will be.
Please contact keir.tattersdill@northumbria.ac.uk
Student Sports Ball and Legacy Cup
We have made the decision to postpone the upcoming Student Sports Ball that was due to take place on Sunday 3 May. We hope to rearrange this for a later date and Student Sport President, Grace Donnelly will be working on options for this.
Legacy Cup will also be postponed, and we will look at rearranging this alongside Sports Ball.
Please contact grace.l.donnelly@northumbria.ac.uk
FAQs
Q. Am I eligible to claim a refund on my Student Sport Club Membership?
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We will not consider any requests until we understand the full impact of the closures. We will then work to review the impact and what options there are for offering compensation should this be felt necessary.
Q. Will BUCS Competitions and fixtures recommence including the finals?
A. Currently BUCS has stopped ALL activities until 01April 2020. However, with the constant changes and developments with COVID-19 we cannot be sure if and when fixtures and competitions will recommence for the 2019/20 season. Follow BUCS here
Q. Can I stop my Fitness Membership Direct Debit?
A. To make it easier for you, we will be freezing ALL Direct Debits and will restart them once
we reopen, so don’t cancel it with your bank
Q. Can I stop my Salary Deduction Fitness Membership?
A. To make it easier for you, we will be freezing ALL Salary Deduction and will restart them once we reopen.
Q. I have an Annual Fitness Membership, will I get any refund?
A. We will not consider any requests until we understand the full impact of the closures. We will then work to review the impact and what options there are for offering compensation should this be felt necessary.
UPDATE 23 MARCH 2020:
Q. I paid upfront for my Fitness Membership, will I get any refund?
A. Yes, we will refund you the pro rata amount for the time we are closed. On reopening we will contact you to arrange your refund.
Q. I have made a court or pitch booking and paid for this booking in advanced, but the facility is now closed, will I get a refund?
A. Yes, all bookings paid for in advanced will be automatically refunded.
Q. When will I get my Kids Camp refund?
A. We have submitted all refund requests to our finance team so they will be processed over the coming weeks
Q. When will I be able to make a new/rearranged booking for an event or activity?
A. At the moment, due to the number of cancellations we are currently having to make we have stopped taking ALL activity and event bookings. We will start taking them again once we reopen the facilities following government and University advice.
Q. I was using my volunteer/internship opportunity as placement hours, will I be penalised for not completing it?
A. You will receive guidance directly from the placements team and your faculty regarding your placement. We understand that there will be an increased level of flexibility in the ways in which you can complete it. Please make contact with them and read the updates on the student portal in the first instance
