In response to the national rise in the reported cases of Covid-19, prime minister Boris Johnson has announced a four-week national lockdown as part of increased measures to counteract the spread of the coronavirus in ongoing attempts to protect lives across England.

The move comes following a vote by MPs on Wednesday, 4th November, to impose restrictions across the country to limit the contact the general public is permitted to engage in with people outside of their households, from the 5th November through to the 2nd December.  Restricting the number of people mixing together, during a pandemic, is aimed at limiting and reducing the spread of the disease, which has become necessary across England with Covid-19 cases reaching record highs.

Basketball England, the national governing body for basketball across England, has been in consultation with the Department of Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS), Sport England, and UK Sport and have now announced that, from Thursday 5 November, all non-elite basketball (training and competition) must stop for the duration of the lockdown and regress to Level 4 of Basketball England’s Return to Play guidance.   The sanctions are also for all youth leagues, clubs, recreational training, and competitions.

The announcement puts all LSB Hoopstars and club sessions on hold until 2nd December, or when the lockdown is lifted by the government. There were hopes from club coaches across the network that outdoor team training sessions could continue, but within government guidelines, training or exercising with more than one other person, not from the same household is not permitted.