New Rules for California Youth Sports

COVID-19 has had a heavy impact on youth sports and to reciprocate for the young athletes; California has come to terms with guidelines to allow play. Before the new rules were executed, there were many youth sport programs who violated the state’s stay at home order with basketball tournaments, soccer conditioning, “prohibition baseball”, etc. On August 3, the California Department of Public Health released an official guideline book to enable youth sports to have a restricted return. The three most basic conditions included social distancing of at least six feet, a consistent group in each training, and sessions to be held outside. If the physical activity is indoor then cloth face coverings are required but activities with strenuous exercise should be done outside with physical distance. 

Guidelines state that no team competition is allowed but teams can come back to distanced drills and conditioning. Between players and coaches, shared equipment should be limited to nothing but if necessary, they should implement a disinfectant process. Parents and guardians should also be well-informed of these new rules and safety measures since their compliance is necessary for their kids to play. 

To summarize, smaller groups are better than larger groups, outdoor workouts are safer than indoor workouts, six foot distancing is preferred to close contact, and shorter sessions are more secure than longer sessions.  These precautions have all been made in an effort to protect and keep coaches, parents, athletes, spectators, volunteers, workers, and facility managers safe. The California Department of Public Health has aspired to create and support a safe environment for players and trainers to return to doing what they love despite the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19