The GAA's decision not to check temperatures on club grounds was informed by concerns regarding the exposure of people to potentially unwell individuals, Off The Ball can reveal.
In the GAA's original guidelines for the return to play released in early June, it was outlined that if temperature checks hadn't been completed by players prior to training, clubs were expected to have the provisions in place for temperature checking on site.
This requirement was then amended a little over one week later in an updated publication of the guidelines. "It is the responsibility of the individual to monitor their own temperature," read the new protocol, with the previous onus placed upon club now removed.
Off The Ball can now reveal that the GAA adopted this change in policy after receiving medical consultation from the association's Advisory Committee.
The GAA's Director of Communications explained that concerns regarding a potentially unwell person(s) queuing alongside others while waiting to have their temperatures recorded at the club grounds was deemed an unnecessary risk to take.
Consequentially, the association decided that the best course of action for all individuals coming to club grounds would be that they check their temperatures at home prior to arrival.
25 June 2020; Paul Gallagher, team offical, completing health forms and sanitizing the officals and players before a Glenswilly GAA Club training session at Glenkerragh in Donegal. Photo by Oliver McVeigh/SportsfileIn a mid-week interview with OTB AM, Dr Kevin Moran, a member of the GAA's medical Advisory Committee, outlined in great detail the concerns that exists surrounding the spread of COVID-19 on club grounds.
"In the context of a team sport on a pitch where there is no indoor involvement," he explained, "[where there is] no dressing-room involvement and all the guidelines are observed (travel alone, arrive togged out, wash hands on arrival, no symptoms) ... it's difficult or impossible to get the viral load you require to establish the infection outdoors."
On Friday's OTB AM, former Kerry footballer and Austin Stacks club member Kieran Donaghy shared his dismay with the GAA's decision on temperature checks.
Highlighting the stringent approach to regular surveillance and testing that has been adopted within other sporting organisations such as the English Premier League and America's NBA, he admitted that his own club had opted to purchase a thermometer, irrespective of the GAA's updated guidelines.
"The GAA clubs could have been provided with a thermometer for checking the players just to reduce the risk again," he suggested. "There should have been more done to support clubs.
"We paid for our own thermometer but I think it should have been provided really. We felt it was something that just should be done."
Ultimately, the GAA clarified that they believe it is unrealistic to expect of them what is delivered by professional sporting bodies and that they have done significant work ensuring the well-being of club members.
"We have offered unprecedented supports to our clubs over the course of the pandemic," the association stated, "and this is borne out by the incredible numbers that have engaged with the learning resources to manage a safe return to activity."
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