The Spanish Sports and Culture Ministry, Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte, announced last week that a protocol comprised of four phases would be in place in order for athletes to resume their training program – individual or basic training, medium-level training, total pre-competition training and competition.
- During the first phase, basic or individual training, athletes will be allowed to train while remaining confined in their homes, athletic residence or provisional residence. When it comes to professional competitions, these will take place in each individual club team’s training complex, so long they meet the sanitary criteria pre-established by the Spanish Health Ministry.
- In the second phase, intended for a medium training level, athletes will resume their training programs under the scope of the “new normality,” as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez qualified the situation during one of his recent press briefings. When it comes to team sports, non-exhaustive tactical work will be permitted.
- Under the total pre-competition training phase, training programs will be intensified, mirroring the pre-competitive model. Exhaustive tactical pre-competition training will be in force for team sports during this phase. Per the guidelines outlined in the document, it is recommended that throughout this phase team sports are conducted in a training camp model.
- The last phase described in the document would be the competitive phase, where the aforementioned “new normality” is met. Though this last phase will not start until the Health Ministry and the Sports Council agree that it is safe to do so.
The nation entered Phase 0 in the de-escalation process May 4, allowing for professional athletes to train individually alongside outdoor exercise and going for a walk will also be allowed so long as they’re performed individually.
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Similar to Italy, Spanish athletes recognized as “professional” by their National Governing Bodies are allowed to train anytime during the day so long as they remain within the limits of the province where they reside.
In contrast, those who are not recognized as “professional” are allowed to train 6-10 a.m. or 8-11 p.m.
Phase 1 will begin May 11 in most of the country’s regions, although not in the provinces of Madrid, Barcelona, Granada or Leon, where the four national High-Performance Centers are located nationwide. These provinces will remain for the moment in Phase 0, under strict confinement and social distancing measures, with the exception that residents are allowed to exercise or go for a walk during certain times of the day.
The transition to the aforementioned “new normality” will last between six and eight weeks’ time. At the same time, the de-escalation process will be gradual, asymmetric, and coordinated.
On April 13, Spain began lifting the national lockdown as the number of new cases decreased. Some non-essential services started coming back to life as the nation neared the one-month-mark since the lockdown order became effective.
Spain has reported a total of 262,783 infections and 26,478 deaths, with 173,157 alleged recoveries, according to the website worldometers.info. The nation has been on national lockdown since March 15.