VT "BE SMART, STAY SAFE" ORDER

https://accd.vermont.gov/news/update-new-work-safe-additions-be-smart-stay-safe-order#sports-and-organized-sports

9.1 Sports/Organized Sports Including Youth Leagues, Adult Leagues, Practices, Games, and Tournaments (Effective 9/4)

• Cloth face coverings are required to be worn by all players, coaches, officials, staff, and spectators who are not immediately involved in active play at all times, consistent with the most current health guidance published by the Department of Health on face coverings. For example, face coverings should be in place during team meetings, timeouts or stoppages, while on the bench or in a dugout, etc.
• Beginning September 8, cloth face coverings will be required at all times when physical distance of six feet cannot be consistently maintained, including during practices, scrimmages, games, meets and competitions for sports that involve contact or close proximity.
  • Anyone with a documented medical or behavioral reason for not wearing a facial covering should not be required to wear one.
• All players, coaches, officials, staff, and spectators should complete a health check before arriving at practice sessions, scrimmages, games, meets or competitions. At a minimum, the following questions should be considered:
  1. Have you been in close contact with a person who has COVID-19?
  2. Do you feel unwell with any symptoms consistent with COVID-19? For example, have they had a cough, temperature, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell?
• Promote an “arrive, play, and leave” mentality; actively discourage gathering in groups before or after activities. 
  • Players should be encouraged to arrive dressed to play in order to minimize or eliminate time spent in locker rooms or other indoor, congregate settings getting changed.
• The risk associated with different types of sports programs is a function of the degree of contact between participants and the type of setting or venue in which the contest is held. Sports leagues and organizations should give strong consideration to implementing modifications to reduce intensity of face-to-face contact and promote physical distancing (i.e., eliminating face-offs in boys lacrosse; modifying corner kicks in soccer; removing checking in hockey).
  • Outdoor sports >> no or low-contact – cross country running (with staggered starts), golf, tennis, bass fishing tournaments, sideline cheer, single sculling, alpine skiing, snowboarding, nordic skiing, track and field – may hold team practice sessions, games, competitions and meets. The total number of people present at any meet or competition may not exceed current limits on outdoor event size – currently 150. A meet may involve multiple groupings through the day if the groups do not interact with one another.  For example, meet organizers may consider staggered starts and departures to ensure the number of participants on-location at a single point in time does not exceed limits on event size.
  • Outdoor sports >> short-duration, incidental contact – soccer, softball, baseball, girls lacrosse, field hockey, 7-on-7 football, crew with two or more rowers – may hold team practice sessions, scrimmages and games.
  • Outdoor sports >> close proximity or moderate contact – boys lacrosse, ultimate frisbee, 3-on-3 basketball – may hold team practices sessions, scrimmages and games.
  • Indoor sports activities (e.g., training sessions and matches) should only be considered when there is no viable outdoor alternative. For example, track and field meets and soccer/futsal matches should only take place outdoors as long as weather allows. Indoor sports facilities should take steps to ensure adequate ventilation.
    • Indoor sports >> no or low-contact – track and field, individual event swimming, gymnastics, figure skating – may hold team practice sessions, competitions and meets. The total number of people present at any meet or competition may not exceed current limits on indoor event size – currently 75.
    • Indoor sports >> short-duration, incidental contact – indoor soccer/futsal, ice hockey, broomball, volleyball, team dance – may hold team practice sessions, scrimmages and games. The total number of people present at any meet or competition may not exceed current limits on indoor event size – currently 75.
  • High contact sports // indoor sports >> close proximity or moderate contact – football, wrestling, rugby, 5-on-5 basketball, cheerleading – may hold practice sessions limited to no and low contact physical conditioning and skill building drills. Full contact scrimmages and games and cheer stunting are not permitted. As indicated above, lower contact formats, such as 7-on-7 football, sideline cheer or 3-on-3 basketball played outside, may be considered as alternatives.
• Meet organizers or home teams must maintain list of participants in each game/match/grouping for 30 days to assist in contact tracing.
• Sporting events in Vermont may only occur between or involve Vermont-based teams or teams from counties eligible for quarantine-free travel to Vermont, based on the most recent map published by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
  • Individual players from bordering states who belong to a Vermont-based team, club, organization or league may participate but must follow Vermont state recreational visitation guidelines.
  • Individual matches between clubs from outside Vermont may be held at a Vermont facility only if the total number of people present, including players, coaches, officials, and spectators do not exceed current limits on events — currently 75 indoors and 150 outdoors – and all participants are from counties eligible for quarantine-free travel based on the most recent map published by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
• Vermont players and teams traveling to out-of-state games, meets or tournaments in locations that are and/or with participants from areas ineligible for quarantine-free travel to Vermont, based on the most recent map published by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, must follow current guidance around quarantine upon return to Vermont before returning to play, school or work.
  • Vermont players and team traveling to out-of-state games, meets or tournaments in locations eligible for quarantine-free travel and involving participants only from areas eligible for quarantine-free travel to Vermont, based on the most recent map published by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, do NOT have to quarantine upon return to Vermont.
• “Jamboree” or tournament-style play (one team playing multiple games vs multiple opponents in a single day/weekend) is not currently permitted in Vermont. This will be reevaluated on November 1st.
• The number of people present (participants, coaches, officials, staff, and spectators) at games, meets and competitions should be limited as much as possible and measures should be put in place to ensure social distancing between households. Spectators should be actively discouraged from attending practices and scrimmages.
  • At no time shall the total number of people present exceed current limits on events — currently 75 indoors and 150 outdoors – nor shall the number of people present exceed 50 percent of the fire safety occupancy limit of a venue or 1 person per 100 square feet.
• During times when athletes are not actively participating in practice or competition, physical distance of at least six feet between individuals should be maintained.  Teams should structure team meetings to limit congregation and ensure adequate physical distance between players on the sidelines or benches.
• During competition, alter spacing of participants, officials, and coaches to achieve adequate physical distancing to the greatest extent possible (e.g., consider moving baseball/softball umpires behind the pitcher and moving the catcher further behind the plate).
• Equipment, and other supplies touched by participants, must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected regularly. Limit sharing equipment as much as possible.
• No spitting on the field or sideline.
• No sharing of water bottles.
• Venues with multiple facilities (such as multi-field locations, multi-ice rinks, multi-court gyms) must ensure that the number of people present at each facility does not exceed 50 percent of its fire safety occupancy or 1 person per 100 square feet and current limits on events – a maximum of 75 people indoors per facility (i.e., rink or court) and 150 people outdoors per facility (field).
  • Venues with multiple facilities may have more than one unit of the maximum event size as long as those units are in distinct portions of the facility (a different rink, unique and distinct fields) and the distinct gatherings have no interaction with one another.
  • Schedules should be established to avoid contact between different user groups.
• This guidance will be reviewed and updated, as necessary, on or about October 15, 2020.​