Tiers 3 and 4: What restrictions mean for basketball

The Government has added a swathe of areas across country to Tier 4 level to address an increase in Covid-19 infection rates.

The new restrictions take effect at 00:01 on 31 December, while other areas will move from Tier 2 into Tier 3 at the same time.

It follows a number of areas being placed in Tier 4 on 20 December.

Tier 4 from December 31

• Leicester City
• Leicestershire (Oadby and Wigston, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Blaby, Charnwood, North West Leicestershire, Melton)
• Lincolnshire (City of Lincoln, Boston, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, North Kesteven, South Holland, East Lindsey)
• Northamptonshire (Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire, Wellingborough)
• Derby and Derbyshire (Derby, Amber Valley, South Derbyshire, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Erewash, Derbyshire Dales, High Peak)
• Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (Gedling, Ashfield, Mansfield, Rushcliffe, Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, Broxtowe)
• Birmingham and Black Country (Dudley, Birmingham, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton)
• Coventry
• Solihull
• Warwickshire (Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwick, North Warwickshire, Stratford-upon-Avon)
• Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (East Staffordshire, Stafford, South Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle under Lyme, Tamworth, Stoke-on-Trent)
• Lancashire (Burnley, Pendle, Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley, Blackpool, Preston, Hyndburn, Chorley, Fylde, Lancaster, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre)
• Cheshire and Warrington (Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington)
• Cumbria (Eden, Carlisle, South Lakeland, Barrow-in-Furness, Copeland, Allerdale)
• Greater Manchester (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan)
• Tees Valley (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees)
• North East (County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland)
• Gloucestershire (Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Cotswolds, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Cheltenham)
• Somerset Council (Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset)
• Swindon
• Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
• Isle of Wight
• New Forest

Tier 4 areas since 20 December

• London (All 32 London boroughs plus City of London)
• Bedford
• Central Bedfordshire
• Luton
• Milton Keynes
• Cambridgeshire
• Essex
• Southend-on-Sea
• Thurrock
• Hertfordshire
• Norfolk
• Peterborough
• Suffolk
• Berkshire (including Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead, West Berkshire and Wokingham)
• Brighton and Hove
• East Sussex
• West Sussex
• Buckinghamshire
• Hampshire
• Southampton
• Portsmouth
• Kent
• Medway
• Oxfordshire
• Surrey

Tier Three areas - from 31 December

• Rutland
• Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin
• Worcestershire (Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Worcester, Wychavon, Wyre Forest)
• Herefordshire
• Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, St Helens)
• York & North Yorkshire (Scarborough, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Selby, Craven, Ryedale, Harrogate, City of York)
• Bath and North East Somerset
• Devon, Plymouth, Torbay (East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon, Plymouth, Torbay)
• Cornwall
• Dorset
• Wiltshire

What basketball activity is allowed in Tier 4 areas:

• Elite competition and training – BBL, WBBL, NBL Division One, WNBL Division One, EABL, WEABL (RTP Level 2). Elite level is defined by government and detailed in Appendix 5 of the RTP document HERE.
• Non-Elite Senior and Junior (U18) indoor activity is not permitted.
• Educationally-based training – Schools, colleges (AoC Sport, ABL) for U18 players. For players over 18, non-elite rules apply. No competitions permitted.
• Outdoor basketball is permitted in line with RTP level 4 conditions for senior players.
• Organised outdoor basketball is permitted for U18s (RTP level 2), however given these activities require a number of adults to run sessions we would strongly recommend that clubs do not stage activities until the New Year when further guidance will be available.

What basketball activity is allowed in Tier 3 areas:

• Elite competition and training – BBL, WBBL, NBL Division One, WNBL Division One, EABL, WEABL (RTP Level 2). Elite level is defined by government and detailed in Appendix 5 of the RTP document HERE.  
• Non-elite senior can only train indoors with members of their households or support bubbles. No competition is permitted   
• Junior competition and training – Jnr. NBL and local league for U18s and younger (RTP Level 2).
• Educationally-based training – Schools, colleges (AoC Sport, ABL) for U18 players. For players over 18, Non-elite rules apply. No competitions permitted. 

Basketball England joint Chief Operating Officer Charlie Ford said:

"We understand the latest Government announcements will come as a further setback to everyone in the game. However, with infection rates on the rise, we must all observe the latest measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

"We will continue to seek further guidance from the Government in relation to our planned restart to Junior National League competitions and we will update everyone in the basketball community early in the New Year."

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