The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recently released a document outlining the county’s additional requirements which must be met for youth sports programs to resume some level of training.

The reopening protocol is intended to be applied to recreational youth sports leagues, club sports, travel sports and sports sponsored by private and public schools serving students in TK-12 schools.

The requirements outlined must be met in addition to the program being permitted to be open by the state public health officer.

The protocol breaks the requirements into three categories, measures to ensure player and coach safety, maintenance protocols and monitoring protocols. The measures to ensure player and coach safety make up the lion’s share of the requirements.

Some of the key takeaways from the document include:

• All youth sporting events, including tournaments, events or competitions are not permitted at this time. 
• Practice games among players of the same team (intra-squad games, scrimmages, and/or matches) are allowed for non-contact sports only. 
• Until further notice, all youth sports activities must only take place outdoors. 
• Physical distancing of six feet between each player and between players and coaches is required at all times. During heavy physical exertion such as training, conditioning and skills activities, the distancing requirement extends to eight feet.
• All players, coaches, family members and visitors are required to wear an appropriate face covering that covers the nose and mouth at all times, with limited exceptions.
• Players and coaches must be screened for symptoms of COVID-19 before they may participate in any youth sports programs.
• Teams must have a plan in place for any discovered positive cases to isolate themselves at home.

These highlights present a high-level view of some of the document’s key areas of impact but do not represent the details of the protocol in its entirety. 

Activities that are not subject to the mask requirement include swimming, showering, eating/drinking, or engaging in solo physical exertion. Additional exemptions include individuals who have been instructed not to wear a face covering by their medical provider due to a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering.

Players are recommended to take a break from exercise if any difficulty breathing is noted and should change their mask or face covering if it becomes wet and sticks to the player’s face and obstructs breathing. 

Some restrictions and recommendations around the types of masks used are also in place, masks with one-way valves may not be used while masks that restrict airflow under heavy exertion (such as N-95 masks) are simply not advised for exercise.

The requirement for players and coaches to be screened for symptoms of COVID-19 and potential contact with anyone infected can be satisfied via several methods, 

The options include in-person checks, an on-line check in systems or through signage posted at the entrance to the facility stating visitors with symptoms of COVID-19 should not enter the premises.

In addition to the requirements for players and coaches, other requirements have been created for the facilities used.

Any areas where players are seated off-field or off-court has to be reconfigured to allow for six feet of physical distancing. Players are recommended to bring their own equipment to practice and not share, if equipment is shared, it is to be disinfected between each use.

Additional requirements and recommendations are included in the document pertaining to rules for employees at the facilities as well as sanitizing protocols.

The youth sports league reopening protocol is available in its entirety, here.

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