COVID-19 GUIDELINES
2021 Season

The New Berlin Pumas Select Baseball & Fastpitch organization prioritizes the health and safety of its players, coaches, families, visiting teams, umpires, spectators, and others. With that in mind, the club is providing the following procedures and guidelines in response to the coronavirus pandemic and threat of COVID-19 disease. Head Coaches should review and adopt the guidelines for their team in partnership with team parents as they see fit to ensure all families are comfortable with their player participating with selected guidelines. It is understood team activities could be influenced by actions of federal, state and local government, as well as other entities, such as other baseball and/or softball clubs.  Participants should adopt whatever practices offer the most protection and safety for all involved. These guidelines are meant to supplement, not replace, other rules.

While there is always inherent risk in all aspects of playing baseball or softball, it is the goal of these guidelines to give our players, coaches, families and others additional assurance of efforts taken to mitigate the risk of spreading the coronavirus.

Response to coronavirus illness and symptoms
Players, coaches and others should not participate in any team activities if they are not feeling well. Players, coaches and others should screen themselves at home, including temperature checks, prior to participating in any team activity. It is encouraged that Head Coaches use the “My Health Check” feature on the Teamsnap App to prescreen all players prior to games and practices. This is located on the information page of the individual game or practice event on the Teamsnap App calendar. 

If any player or coach is ill with coronavirus symptoms, including but not limited to a fever (100.4 or higher), cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., and believes he or she has had a possible or known COVID-19 exposure, that person must refrain from all club activities until such time that they have been tested and/or cleared.

*GUIDANCE UPDATED 4/23/21*
A coach, player or family member needs to quarantine from the team if they meet the following Criteria:
You were within 6 feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more
You provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19
You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them)
You shared eating or drinking utensils
They sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you

If the one or more of the above criteria was met, the following applies:
Stay home for 14 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19.
Watch for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19
If possible, stay away from others, especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19

Options to Reduce quarantine
 -Participant may return after 10 days if not tested, and are not showing symptoms
-Participant may return after 7 days, if tested and result is negative. Test much occur on the 5th day of quarantine or later. Participant may return after receiving a negative test. 
The club will rely on family members of players to monitor for coronavirus symptoms and to take temperatures as warranted. If coaches or club/team personnel suspect a player has symptoms consistent with coronavirus, it should be brought to the attention of the player’s family as soon as practically possible.


Player, coach social distancing

 Every effort will be made to adopt social distancing practices during all team activities to keep all participants at least 6 feet apart. Dugouts should have clear, one-directional traffic. If a dugout does not allow for social distancing, players will position themselves in the nearest safe location at a social distance. There should be no team huddles, no high-fives, no handshakes, or any unnecessary physical contact. Athletes should not take part in pre-game coaches meetings at home plate. If a coach visits the pitchers mound during a game or scrimmage, all other players should stay outside of the pitching circle. It is understood that physical distancing will not always be possible. 

Spectator social distancing
Family members should consider limiting the number of family members who attend team activities. Following games on social platforms such as Game Changer is encouraged. Spectators, including all family members, should practice social distancing and avoid gathering in bleachers. Spectators are encouraged to bring their own chairs and to use cloth face masks.

Hand-washing, hand sanitizer
Players and coaches should wash their hands regularly and use hand sanitizer regularly, including between innings. Families should supply each player with hand sanitizer as part of standard equipment. Coaches also should have hand sanitizer as part of team equipment. The club will supply wipes, disinfectant, hand sanitizer, etc., to teams.

Disinfecting team areas, equipment
Disinfectant should be used in dugout areas before and after practices or games, as well as on team equipment. Each team will identify one or more adult(s) volunteers 18 or over, not a coach or assistant coach, to assist with encouraging social distancing and disinfecting areas before and after team activities. The club also will appoint a COVID point-person to answer questions about, and help administer, the guidelines, and work in coordination with the club director.

Safe use of equipment
 Players must not share equipment, including helmets, bats and fielding masks. Teams will not use shared bat racks or shared helmet racks. All equipment must be kept and maintained in individual player equipment bags. In the unavoidable event that equipment must be shared among players, it must be disinfected before and after use. Players should not handle another player’s equipment; if that does happen, such equipment should be immediately disinfected. We recommend players and/or family members disinfect all player equipment before and after every practice and every game.

Balls
Before and after practices and games, all balls must be disinfected, or used as new directly from packaging. During practices and games, balls should be disinfected regularly, and whenever possible. A clean, disinfected ball should be put into use each inning.

Cloth face masks
Decreasing potential exposure to respiratory droplets is the guiding principle behind social distancing and the use of face coverings. Players, coaches and spectators are encouraged to use cloth face masks whenever possible, including before games and practices; after games and practices; and between games and practices. However, to avoid safety risks during games and practices, players can wear face masks when on the field if desired. They can wear them in the bench area or any other area when they are not actively playing. However, players should also beware of the possibility that masks could exacerbate heat exhaustion.

Food, beverages
There should be no sharing of food or beverages among players. Families should not supply food or drink to team activities, other than their own children. Players and families are encouraged to label all food and beverages. There should be no use of sunflower seeds, candy, gum, etc., associated with any team activities.

Miscellaneous:

• Players and families are advised to be careful about using public bathrooms and drinking fountains. If using them is necessary, take proper steps for good hygiene.

• If players do not already own batting gloves, or are not in the habit of using batting gloves, now would be a good time to consider doing so. Like all other equipment, do not share batting gloves with anyone.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website [Find guidance here]

“When You Can be Around Others After You Had or Likely Had COVID-19” [Find guidance here]

“CDC Considerations for Youth Sports” [Find guidance here]

“USA Softball: Back to the Ballpark Recommendations.” [Find the report here]