PPVC COVID-19 Reopening Policies & Procedures for Athletes and Parents

UncategorizedPublished July 10, 2020 at 8:53 pm No Comments

Patriot Pole Vault Club COVID-19 Reopening Policies and Procedures For Athletes and Parents

The COVID-19 pandemic will require some major changes to the way we will be organizing practices. In anticipation of this we have provided this reopening plan document that will outline the procedures and policies we will have to follow in order to minimize any spread of the virus. We also understand that this situation is fluid and may require us to modify these policies at any time. 

We have based our reopening plans on numerous sources but most importantly the guidelines put forth by the following sources:

State of Massachusetts Phase 2 & Phase 3 Reopening Plans
USA Olympic Committee (USOC)
National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
USA Track & Field and USA Track & Field – New England (USATF & USATF-NE)

Effective August 1st, 2020 the State of Massachusetts COVID-19 guidelines require that if you have recently traveled out of state you must either quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72 hours prior to your arrival in Massachusetts. If your COVID-19 test result has not been received prior to arrival, visitors & residents must quarantine until they receive a negative test result. Travelers from COVID-19 lower-risk states – Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, New York, New Jersey and Hawaii – do NOT have to follow these guidelines. Please consult the Massachusetts COVID-19 Travel Order website for further details

These policies and procedures are specific to practices at Westborough High School. Similar policies and procedures will be in place at Natick High School, North Reading High School and the Snyder Pole Vault Compound.

To attend practices at Westborough High School athletes MUST sign up for practice sessions ahead of time using the Constant Contact registration links on the front page of our website. Unfortunately we cannot allow any drop-ins at this time. Due to the fact that we have to limit the numbers of vaulters if you sign up for a practice but do not show we will still have to charge you for that practice. Please only sign up for sessions that you know you are going to be able to attend.

Practice sessions will be strictly limited to 10 athletes with 2-3 coaches.

  • Athletes may arrive 30 minutes early to begin warming up for their session
  • Athletes will be required to leave immediately at the end of their session. Due to the limited number of athletes and coaches we are allowed to have during any given session we will not be able to allow athletes to stay late.

We will have 15 minutes between sessions to allow for athletes to leave, for coaches to disinfect any equipment that needs it (in our case that would be all the poles that were used in the previous session) and for coaches to screen incoming athletes.

All athletes MUST sign a COVID-19 practice waiver form before each practice session indicating that they are in good health and have not been exposed to anyone currently experiencing COVID-19 symptoms before they are allowed to enter the practice facility. If you’d prefer you can print & fill out the waiver and bring it with you to practice to save time

All athletes and coaches will be briefly screened for signs/symptoms of COVID-19 prior to each session (including having their temperature taken with a no touch thermometer)

  • If the athlete is coughing or has a temperature over 100.4° they will be asked to leave
  • If an athlete starts to feel sick during practice they must leave practice IMMEDIATELY

All athletes, coaches & spectators will be required to wash their hands with hand sanitizer before entering and leaving the facility 

Athlete access to the facility will be ONLY through the entrance in the fence nearest the pole vault pit. 

  • We will keep the gate open to minimize touching of surfaces.
  • We will have signage up indicating the entrance & exit
  • There will be NO ACCESS to restrooms, locker rooms or water fountains so please prepare ahead of time

Athletes will be required to arrive in their athletic gear with their own labelled water bottles, chalk and hand wipes/sanitizer in a bag or backpack. 

  • Make sure to bring LOTS of water or other drinks
  • Personal items MUST NOT be shared amongst athletes

EVERYONE – athletes, spectators and coaches – will be expected to maintain social distancing guidelines. In order to help manage these requirements we are implementing the following protocols:

  • Everyone INCLUDING ATHLETES will be required to wear face masks or buffs until further notice with one exception. While warming up on the track athletes may remove their masks if they are able to maintain at least 20′ distance between other athletes and folks using the track
  • Everyone must take care to shield any incidental coughs and sneezes with a tissue, elbow or shoulder and NOT the bare hands. If bare hands are used you must immediately wash your hands with hand sanitizer
  • Please do not shake hands or have any other similar personal contact to reduce the risk of spreading infection. 
  • A 6’ social distance will be strictly enforced in all phases of our practice sessions
  • We will set up personal areas 10’ apart – each athlete will be assigned one of these areas along with a mini hurdle. These are for you to store your gear and poles

Only one athlete at a time will be allowed in the shed to get poles. Poles MUST NOT be shared between athletes unless they are disinfected first

At the end of each practice session athletes will disinfect every pole that they used.

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