Westport PAL 
Guidelines for Return to Play 2020/2021
As of November 16, 2020

General Guidelines

• All participants (players, coaches and volunteers) must stay at home under the following circumstances:

- If you experience any COVID-19 symptoms (consult the CDC website for a current list), or

- If you or an immediate family member have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test, or

- If you have been exposed to any person who has tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 14 days.
 

• In the instances of a COVID-19 positive diagnosis or exposure to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, the participant (or parent/guardian, for a player) must notify Westport PAL Girls Lacrosse ( ) and is not permitted to participate in clinics for at least 14 days. The local health department will be notified and town protocols will be followed. 
  Return to participation in Westport PAL Programs will require a 14-day quarantine.
   
• All participants must adhere to CT Governor Ned Lamont’s travel advisory and quarantine for the mandatory 14-day period following travel to designated hot spots. 

Health Screening

• Shortly before attending clinics, all participants (coaches, players) are required to self-screen (or to be conducted by a parent/guardian, for a player) for any observable illness, including cough or respiratory distress, which would prevent them from attending, and to take their temperature. 
• Any participant with a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher will be prohibited from attending/participating, should remain at home and contact their healthcare provider. 
• Should a participant display repeated COVID-19 symptoms or the onset of a fever during clinics, she/he will be immediately removed to an isolated safe area; in the case of a player without a parent present, the parent/guardian will be contacted to come immediately and take the player home.

Transportation

• Parents/caregivers are advised to drop off and pick up their own child and not use carpools.
• No congregating in groups before or after practice, including in areas adjacent to fields or in parking lots. Players are to wait in their car with guardian until just prior to the start of clinics.
• Players and spectators are asked to quickly gather personal belongings after clinics and head to their cars, so that the group to follow can use the field.

Social-Distancing/Mask-Wearing

• All players, coaches and spectators must abide by 6-foot social distancing guidelines.
• Spectators (please try to limit numbers) are permitted, but must wear a mask and must stand or bring their own chairs. Use of bleachers is not permitted.
• Players must bring their own mask to clinics. They will not be required to wear masks during play, but will wear masks upon entry to and exit from the field, and are recommended to wear them when not engaging in active play.
• Coaches will wear masks, unless they are distanced from players by more than 12 feet.
• Players should bring their own hand sanitizer for individual use when coming into contact with any shared surfaces or objects.

On-Field Guidance

• Peer and coach interaction - No physical contact is permitted, including high-fives, handshakes, fist bumps, or hugs.
• Players and coaches are to avoid touching their face, mouth, eyes or nose during clinics.
• No spitting allowed.
• Players and coaches must cover their coughs and sneezes with either a tissue or the inside of their elbow. Used tissues must be immediately disposed of properly in a trash receptacle and hand sanitizer used immediately afterward. 

Equipment

• Arrive to the field dressed and ready to play, with masks. 
• No equipment/stick bags on the sidelines - leave them in the car. Only carry sticks, water bottles, mouthguards and hand sanitizer to the field.
• Clearly label all sticks, goggles, water bottles and hand sanitizer.
• Please make sure all needed stick and goggle adjustments are made by parents/guardians prior to clinics.
• Players will be directed, upon entry to the field, to socially-distanced (6-feet apart) designated spots, marked by cones, where they can place their water bottles.
• No sharing of any personal equipment (sticks, goggles), water bottles or hand sanitizer. 
• Coaches and PAL staff will handle touching of and moving of goals. 
• All equipment (balls, cones) will be sanitized after each clinic.
• For consecutive clinics (with a 15-minute time buffer), separate equipment (balls, cones) will be used for each session.
• Parents/guardians/caregivers are advised to wash player clothing, water bottles and mouthguards, as well as to disinfect sticks and goggles, after each clinic.

Waiver

• Westport PAL will require parents to sign an additional COVID-19 waiver (Assumption of Risk and Waiver of Liability). Players cannot participate without a signed waiver. 

Questions? For specific questions related to current public health guidelines, please consult the CDC (cdc.gov) and state of CT (ct.gov/coronavirus) websites.  For questions related to Westport PAL policies, please email 

Westport PAL reserves the right to modify these guidelines and best practices, given the fluid nature of policies and recommendations from federal, state and local officials.