COVID-19 Return to Play Safety Plan (Fall, 2020)

Dr Leslie Yen, MD, Sports Medicine Practitioner, Swedish Hospital, is the official Cascades medical consultant and has been consulting with the Cascades regarding return to play activities.

Seattle Cascades will implement the following at all youth clinics and camps:

• Staff, participants, and all others must stay home when sick (including flu or other) or if a close contact of someone with COVID-19.

• People with underlying health conditions should consult with their medical provider regarding participation in athletic activities.

• Transportation: Limit exposure to those outside the household unit during travel. Encourage only those in the same household to travel together, and if not in the same household, travel in separate vehicles if possible. For travel groups, (groups that include more than one household in the same vehicle whether in a carpool) all members of the travel group, including the driver, must wear a face covering and spread out as much as possible within the vehicle. Limit travel groups to those who have been in regular contact (e.g. team members). Encourage family members to sit together. Maximize ventilation in the vehicle by opening windows.

• Check in will be a multi-part process:

  • Players will wash their hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer at check-in

  • Mask check (no un-filtered valves, covers nose and mouth, extra masks on-site)

  • Parent questions and any medical information will be addressed via online registration and on-site

  • Youth players will be met by a designated staff member upon arrival and have their temperatures taken. (over 100.4 will be re-taken, if still high then will not be admitted) 

  • Screened for symptoms.  

  • Directed where to store gear (6’ separate from others)

  • Called to their individual groups of 6.

• Dismissal will proceed as follows, all players will:

  • Wear their masks

  • Be released from their group of 6 and remain at least 6’ apart

  • Wash hands thoroughly

  • Go directly to their guardians and leave the area

• Everyone on the site must wear a face mask covering. Masks may be removed when performing strenuous physical activity. 

• Scrimmage, intra-team competitions, and league games allowed for both low and moderate (Ultimate is moderate) risk sports. 

• No spectators allowed except for one adult parent/guardian/caregiver for each minor-aged participant allowed. Spectators must maintain physical distance of at least six (6) feet between each person. No spectators allowed for participants 18 and older.

• Players will remain with their group of 6 (pod) throughout the camp. Breaks will be staggered and snacks held with their pod. At all times a buffer zone of 8-10 feet will be maintained between pods. 

• Staff and players will wash their hands at each break, beginning and end (twice per break) 20 seconds! Multiple hand sanitizing stations will be available plus soap and water upon request.

• Athletes should not share water bottles, uniforms, towels, or snacks and should not spit (saliva, sunflower seeds, etc.).

• All snacks provided by Cascades will be individually wrapped, or will be oranges and bananas.

• Discs will be disinfected between all breaks. 

• Frequent cleaning and sanitizing with a particular emphasis on commonly touched surfaces. 

• Entering and leaving the turf playfield: All campers, coaches, and camp personnel must vacate the field within 15 minutes of the end of the reservation.  All equipment and garbage must be removed from the field within 15 minutes of the end of the reservation.

• Maintain minimum six-foot separation between all employees (and customers) in all interactions when feasible. When strict physical distancing is not feasible for a specific task, other prevention measures are required, such as use of barriers, personal protective equipment, staggered breaks, and alternating work shift starts. 

• Provide personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, goggles, face shields and face masks as appropriate or required to employees for the activity being performed. 

• Cloth facial coverings must be worn by every employee not working alone on the jobsite unless their exposure dictates a higher level of protection under Department of Labor & Industries safety and health rules and guidance. Refer to Coronavirus Facial Covering and Mask Requirements for additional details. A cloth facial covering is described in the Department of Health guidance, https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/1600/coronavirus/ClothFacemasks.pdf. 

• All areas where a person with probable or confirmed COVID-19 illness worked, touched surfaces, etc. will be cordoned off until the area and equipment is cleaned and sanitized. We will follow the cleaning guidelines set by the CDC to deep clean and sanitize. 

• A site-specific COVID-19 Supervisor shall be designated by the employer at each job site to monitor the health of employees and enforce the COVID-19 job site safety plan. 

• A worker may refuse to perform unsafe work, including hazards created by COVID-19. And, it is unlawful for their employer to take adverse action against a worker who has engaged in safety protected activities under the law if their work refusal meets certain requirements. Employees who choose to remove themselves from a worksite because they do not believe it is safe to work due to the risk of COVID-19 exposure may have access to certain leave or unemployment benefits. Employers must provide high-risk individuals covered by Proclamation 20-46 with their choice of access to available employer-granted accrued leave or unemployment benefits if an alternative work arrangement is not feasible. Other employees may have access to expanded family and medical leave included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, access to use unemployment benefits, or access to other paid time off depending on the circumstances. Additional information is available at https://www.lni.wa.gov/agency/outreach/paid-sick-leaveand-coronavirus-covid-19-common-question.

• Keep a roster of every athlete, staff, groups and volunteers present at each practice, training session, and contest to assist with contact tracing in the event of a possible exposure. These will be kept on file for 28 days.

**To better understand this policy here is a link to the current infection rate trends in every county (scroll down and click on “Summary Data Tables” for county-by-county info): https://coronavirus.wa.gov/whatyou-need-know/covid-19-risk-assessment-dashboard