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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
Tom Coleman

What Wales' new 'traffic light' exit plan from lockdown means for sport, exercise and events

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has unveiled the country's plan to exit the lockdown brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sport and exercise was just one area addressed by the Welsh Government's 'traffic light system', which outlined how lockdown measures could be eased over the next few weeks.

Given that the guidelines largely depend on several variables, they do not include any precise dates, but the first step could potential happen in two weeks' time, which is when the current lockdown terms are due to next be reviewed.

Here's a quick rundown on what it could mean.

Red

The first stage of the exit plan will see outdoor sports courts re-open, including tennis courts, which currently remain closed.

Meanwhile, the government has added that elite athletes will be able to resume 'some activity'.

The details on that are not quite clear, but this could potentially give the green light for Cardiff City and Swansea City to return to training, which in turn would present another boost to hopes that the Championship can once again resume.

The nation's four professional rugby regions could potentially follow suit, although resumption on the current PRO14 campaign remains unclear.

The cricket season has already been pushed back to July by the ECB, but under the terms of this stage, Glamorgan Cricket could well start training too.

Amber

If Cardiff and Swansea are going to resume their Championship campaigns, it would seem that Wales would need to reach this stage of the exit plan.

Under the terms of this stage, some outdoor events with limited capacity and events behind closed doors for broadcast would be permitted.

Meanwhile, members of the public could potentially resume team and individual sports, non-contact sport and games in small groups indoors and outdoors.

Green

Life wouldn't quite be back to normal, but it appears the entire sporting calender would be able to resume in some form, providing there is physical distancing.

The government has also said that at this stage all events could "resume with limited capacity", which suggests that spectators could even be permitted to watch matches again.

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