Today Welsh Government have announced a “circuit breaker lockdown” for all of Wales.
This means that a series of restrictive measures will be in place for from 6pm Friday 23 October until the start of Monday 9 November 2020.

All training sessions will be cancelled from 6 pm Friday evening, so no Ponty Pirates swim session.
The last session this week will be Thursday evening swim at Morriston pool.

Updated 13:00hrs 19th October 2020

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Some main points from the new guidance.

Exercise and outdoor activities

Can I leave home to exercise?

Yes. Exercise is important for physical and mental health, and you can leave home as often as you like to exercise as long as you do so from home and alone or with members of your household (and/or a carer).

What kind of exercise is permitted?

There are no legal limits on this, but in practice this is constrained by other restrictions that have been imposed such as the closure of leisure centres, gyms and swimming pools. As one of the purposes of the restrictions is to reduce pressure on the Welsh NHS, we also ask people to avoid activities that involve a significant degree of risk (for example swimming or other exercise at sea, or in lakes, rivers or other waterways).

Are there any limits on how far I can run or cycle for exercise?

There are no limits on the distance you can travel during exercise, though the nearer you stay to your home, the better. Your exercise should start and finish from your home and you should exercise alone or with a member of your household. 

Can I drive somewhere to exercise?

Exercise should be undertaken locally – from home or as close as possible to the home.  In general this should not involve people driving to a location away from home for this purpose.  No journeys of any significant distance should be taken, for example, just in order to exercise in the countryside or at beauty spots.

People with specific health or mobility issues may, however, need to travel from their home in order to be able to exercise.  For example, some wheelchair users may not be able to start to exercise immediately outside their homes for practical access reasons, and may need to drive to a suitable flat location, such as a park, for this purpose.  In these circumstances the journey should be to the nearest convenient accessible location and no long journeys should be undertaken unless absolutely necessary.

The need to carry sports equipment isn’t regarded as a justification on its own for driving in these circumstances.

Can I do other things while out for exercise?

Yes, as long as they are also permitted, and do not involve gathering with people from other households outside a permitted “bubble”. Combining exercise with walking a dog or going to a shop to buy food, for example, is considered to be reasonable.

Leaving your home to exercise should not be used as an excuse to undertake other activity which is not permitted. The purpose of leaving home is to exercise. Going for a walk and then having a picnic or spending a prolonged period on a park bench, for example, is not considered to be exercise and is not intended to be a reasonable excuse.

Will professional or elite sports be allowed?

Sportspeople who work and earn a living through sport are allowed to continue working, and like everyone else they can leave home to do so if they cannot work from home. However, the elite programme, overseen by Sport Wales, will be suspended during this circuit breaker period.

What will happen after Monday 9 November?

Following the end of the fire-break, a new set of national rules will be introduced, covering how people can meet and how the public sector and businesses operate.

We will hopefully have an update closer to that date. For now follow the guidelines and stay safe and hopefully see you all in a couple of weeks time.

Full details available here