With new guidance for sports finally being put out by the State, we now have a bit more clarity as to how things will unfold throughout the winter and into the spring.

Full heath department guidance HERE

Check out this image of sports tied to each tier.

After reading the full guidance, here are some of my thoughts:

This should have come out a long time ago

After releasing the color-coded system in August, rather than giving no guidance at all, this simple contact-based approach could have been put forth to guide sports programs with how to proceed.
Youth sports have, for some reason, been left in the cold to determine what kind of activities are allowed and when
Non-contact individual sports could have been holding covid-safe competitions all along, but are just now formally being allowed

I agree with the placement of sports in each tier (for the most part)

While there are certainly differences in contact levels between sports in the same tier, I feel that each sport is correctly placed. For example, girls Lacrosse is slightly higher contact that Baseball or Softball, but not enough to be considered high-contact.
It could definitely be argued that Soccer and Outdoor Volleyball should belong in the Red tier, as they aren’t nearly as high-contact as Football.

High School Sports

The CIF is scheduled to meet today and discuss how to proceed regarding high school sports
The current sport schedule for starting dates will certainly change again, especially given that fall sports such as Football, Volleyball and Water Polo that were scheduled to start now, are not allowed until we get back to the Orange Tier.
Red-tier and Purple-tier sports like Baseball, Girl’s Lacrosse, Tennis, Swimming and Track will have the possibility of actually moving up their start date from March, possibly to February if we can tamp down the surge and get back to the Red-tier.
That would leave open the option to play Orange-tier sports later in the spring - maybe an April or May start date in case we are in the Orange tier by that time?
Indoor Basketball is shut down for a long time (Yellow-tier), so hopefully more options will come up for outdoor hoops, although there are limited outdoor courts where formal games can be played.

Youth Sports

Youth sports have tried to adapt to the rules throughout the pandemic, and will continue to do so as we navigate the next several months
The guidance is clear that in their designated tier, competitions are allowed with modifications. For example, single games will be allowed, but only between teams or groups from the same county or neighboring counties if they are in the same or better tier.
As soon as we get back to the red tier, we should be allowed to have individual Baseball/Softball/Girl’s Lacrosse games. This is great news!

Physical training and outdoor activities

As most programs and organizations have been doing all along, physical training outdoors will continue, with the clarity that it is formally allowed and the rules have been updated.
Since NO competitions will take place until January 25th at the earliest, athletes need to find other ways, distanced with masks on, to compete and train and stay ready for when their sport is allowed again.

Ballplayers will continue to adapt and find creative ways for athletes to exercise, practice and safely socialize. I’m continuing to upgrade Ballplayer Field, including bringing more gym equipment outside in order to allow our 13+ and High Schoolers to do their strength training outdoors. This in addition to our options for Elementary and Middle Schoolers that we currently have in place.

Stay safe and happy holidays!

-Steve