On Monday, June 1, 2020, the SDHSAA moratorium will end. Therefore, the weight room and gyms will be available for use for Platte-Geddes student/athletes only and only at designated times. The district will strictly adhere to CDC and SDHSAA guidelines and recommendations as listed below:
SDHSAA Summer 2020 Contact Recommendations
Underlying Principles:
- This guidance is in effect from June 1, 2020 through July 31, 2020.
- This is subject to change based on current conditions.
- The health and safety of students is the highest priority. In addition, schools must also focus on the health of their coaches/advisors and other staff, particularly those who are in vulnerable categories based on age and underlying medical conditions.
- Due to the nature of the outbreak, there will be inequities depending upon geography. It is unlikely that ALL students will be able to return to- and sustain- athletic activity in all schools/communities at the same time. Likewise, there will be inequities in what types of activities will be able to be experienced. While the SDHSAA would typically have reservations about this inequity, our goal for this summer is to allow students to return to school-based athletics and activities in any and all situations where it can be done safely.
- When resuming summer contact, care MUST be taken to recondition athletes back to physical activity.
- The NFHS and SDHSAA recommend the continued use of athletic training services as key health personnel in the sports/activities program.
- Decreasing potential exposure to respiratory droplets is the guiding principle behind social distancing and the use of face coverings. It is also the basis of stratification of risk by sport presented in this document. Cloth face coverings should be considered acceptable in all phases of this document.
- “Vulnerable individuals” are defined by the CDC as people age 65 years or older and others with serious underlying health conditions, including high blood pressure, chronic lung disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and those whose immune systems are compromised such as by chemotherapy for cancer and other conditions requiring such therapy.
- The Platte-Geddes School District begin at Phase One of this program and will remain there for at least 14 calendar days. In keeping with Governor Noem’s “Back to Normal” Plan, if there is a downward/flat trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period, the district will progress to Phase Two, where a new 14-day period of tracking of cases will begin. If there is another 14-day downward/flat trajectory of cases, the district will progress to Phase Three.
- The district will consistently monitor case numbers in their school/community and adjust phases accordingly.
Phases:
Sport/Activity Categories:
- Low Risk: Sports/activities that can be done with social distancing or individually with no sharing of equipment or the ability to clean the equipment between use by competitors.
- Moderate Risk: Sports/activities that involve close, sustained contact, with protective equipment in place that may reduce the likelihood of respiratory particle transmission OR intermittent close contact OR group activities OR sports/activities that use equipment that cannot be cleaned between participants.
- Examples: Basketball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics, tennis, high/long jump, pole vault, 7 on 7 football, one-act play. (Note- tennis, volleyball, gymnastics, and track events could be considered “lower risk” with appropriate cleaning of equipment and use of mask by participants.)
- High Risk: Sports/activities that involve close, sustained contact between participants with lack of significant protective barriers which creates a high probability that respiratory particles will be transmitted between participants
- Examples: Football, wrestling, competitive cheer/dance
- Chorus/Orchestra/Music: Although the SDHSAA out-of-season rules do not pertain to music, they are providing recommendations for summer activities in those areas. It should be noted that these are recommendations and the ultimate decision will be made at the local level. The NFHS is currently investigating the extent of spread of respiratory droplets during singing or the playing of wind instruments. Until that is determined, singing and wind instruments are considered “high risk” and practice will be individual. Stringed instrument rehearsal could be considered moderate or low risk, depending upon distancing measures, as could orchestra rehearsal consisting of strings and percussion.
Phase One
Pre-Workout Screening:
- All coaches and students will be screened for signs/symptoms of COVID-19 prior to a workout, to include a temperature check.
- Responses to screening questions will be recorded and stored for contact tracing purposes if a COVID-19 infection occurs.
- Any person with one or more positive responses on the screening will not be allowed to take part in workouts,he/she should contact their medical provider, and should receive medical clearance before returning.
- Vulnerable individuals should not oversee or participate in any workouts during Phase One.
Limitations on Gathering:
- Gatherings will not consist of more than 10 people at a time (inside or outside), to include all participants and coaches.
- Locker rooms will not be used during Phase One. Students will report to workouts in proper gear and immediately return home to shower at the end of the workout.
- Workouts will be conducted in “pods” of students with the same 5-10 people (including coaches) always working out together. Smaller pods will be used for weight training.
- There will be a minimum distance of 6 feet between each individual at all times.
Facilities Cleaning:
- Adequate cleaning schedules will be created and implemented for all athletic facilities.
- Prior to an individual or group entering a facility, all hard surfaces within that facility will be wiped down and sanitized. Hard surface examples include but are not limited to door handles, chairs, furniture, locker rooms, weight room equipment, bathrooms, and training tables.
- Individuals will wash their hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before touching any surfaces or participating in workouts.
- Hand sanitizer will be available to individuals.
- Weight equipment will be wiped down thoroughly before and after each individual uses the equipment.
- Shirts and shoes will be worn at all times.
- Students are encouraged to shower and wash their workout clothing immediately upon returning home.
Physical Activity and Athletic Equipment:
- Low-risk, individual sports/activities will begin practices with distancing measures in place.
- Moderate and high risk sports/activities will focus on individual drills and weight training.
- There swill be no shared athletic equipment (towels, clothing, pennies, shoes, or sport specific equipment) between students.
- Students should wear their own workout clothing, and clothing/towels should be washed and cleaned after every workout.
- All athletic equipment, including balls, will be cleaned after each use and prior to the next workout.
- Individual drills requiring the use of athletic equipment can be permissible, but the equipment should be cleaned between use of each individual.
- There will be an emphasis on resistance training with body weight, sub-maximal lifts, and use of resistance bands.
- Free weight exercises that require a spotter will not be conducted, as they cannot be conducted while observing social distancing.
Hydration:
- All students need to bring their own water bottle, and water bottles should not be shared.
- Hydration stations (water fountains, water troughs, etc.) will not be used.