Bio-secure bubble has been the buzzword since the resumption of sporting activities across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has set up its own bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to complete its ongoing season, which was brought to a halt in March because of the deadly virus.
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In a bid to make sure the players don’t feel away from home, NBA has arranged many facilities. On top of the list is a players-only lounge, which includes video games, movie screenings, table tennis et al. There is separate space for yoga and meditation and the players can make use of the swimming pools as well.
As the players are particular about their hairstyles, the organiser has drafted in barbers for saloon services. Those in the bubble also have access to Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Wild Africa Trek. In addition to all these, there are team-sponsored outings – boating, bowling, fishing and golfing.
As far as food is concerned, everyone is provided three meals on non-matchdays and four meals on matchdays. Apart from that, there is restaurant availability in the bubble. At a time when the virus is spreading like wildfire, the players and support staff have been instructed to maintain social distancing in all places to ensure safety.
There must be a distance of six feet between the players when they are involved in video games, with no doubles matches allowed in table tennis. While playing golf, there will be no caddies, and clubs and balls cannot be shared. Denver Nuggets assistant coach Jordi Fernandez, recently, spoke about life in the bio-bubble.
“It is very similar to coaching a national team, where you spend so much time with the same people,” Fernandez told Nuggets.com. “If we want to get entertained, there are quite a few things to do. We don’t have the fancy players pool, but we have snuck over there some times,” laughed Fernandez.
“This bubble created here, it is like the world NBA designed to help us do our jobs, entertain people and do it at a high level. You have to give NBA a lot of credit,” he added.
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