The California Department of Public Health revised its guidance for youth and recreational adult sports Monday, outlining which are allowed in each of the state’s four pandemic reopening tiers.
The new guidelines apply to all organized sports, including school and community-sponsored programs and privately organized leagues.
Sports are grouped in each of the four tiers by their potential for the virus to spread, with factors including how much contact players make with each other and whether a sport or activity is played indoors or outdoors.
“I know as a parent and athlete myself, how important exercise is to maintain physical and mental health, and we encourage members of the same household to do physical activities together and outdoors until the current and alarming surge passes,” said Dr. Erica Pan, the state’s acting public health officer.
Outdoor physical conditioning, practice and skill training are all allowed across the state, including in counties that have implemented a stay-at-home order or are under the state’s stay-at-home order.
Residents in a county with a stay-at-home order are strongly encouraged to avoid exercising with people from another household under any circumstance.
“Despite how hard it has been to do this for so many months, it’s imperative now more than ever that we all follow public health guidance by staying home and not mixing with other households,” Pan said.
The new guidelines apply to counties that are not under the state’s stay-at-home order, according to the CDPH, which developed the guidelines with stakeholders like the California Interscholastic Federation and the California Association of Recreation and Park Districts.
More than two dozen sports and exercise activities are allowed in the most-restrictive “purple” tier, according to the new guidelines, including biking, golf, ice and roller skating, programs like yoga and Zumba, running, swimming, skiing, snowboarding and hiking.
For sports in all four tiers, competition will not be allowed to resume statewide until Jan. 25, 2021, at the earliest.
State officials will re-evaluate that date in early January depending on the state of the pandemic and the state’s capacity of hospital and intensive care unit beds.
“We need everyone to take seriously their responsibility to protect their entire community, and in the meantime, we all can look forward to these activities we can resume in 2021,” Pan said.
The list of which sports and activities are allowed in each tier can be found at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/outdoor-indoor-recreational-sports.aspx.
15 comments
So no more traveling out of state for tournaments … Yeah, bite me. You have already taken away almost a year of these children sports in this despicable county and state. We followed your mandates all year by not traveling and no tournaments .. well, sorry … when our season starts, if the county and state do no want to allow a tournament, we will travel. Try and stop us.
How is this any different than the countless families who drove all over California and nearby states for rogue baseball and soccer tournaments?
Did you not drive by Boatwright, Willow Pass, Clayton Community Park every weekend and see countless teams playing against each other?
While your league may have shut down, enough families knew the right people to call to go play games and violate the order. And the only thing that stopped them was a positive test.
And yet you wonder why we are still in this mess?
I read somewhere (unfortunately I cannot find the link) that the Newsome kids travel to Arizona for soccer.
Again, what’s best for us is being dictated but not exactly followed by the governor.
😡
@JJ
I saw the games being played by other teams … but we obliged, to our determent. We lost money on some tournaments that would not refund us … our team lost the opportunity to play, while others did not. Do I blame those other teams who travelled to others states to play – NOT ONE BIT!
I blame the lousy pitiful leadership in this county and state who have arbitrarily, without the use of science or metrics, make decisions that have hurt our children, killed businesses and hurt countless others.
We are in this ‘mess’ because our leader does everything but ‘lead’. Newsom, Trump, Breed, countless health directors … all of them should be removed from office, fined and thrown in jail.
Why is traveling for a tournament more important than other people’s health? All of us have had to sacrifice this year. I had a few travel plans get cancelled but who cares, so many have lost so much more.
The masks, the staying indoors and only seeing others in Zoom calls is all in service to keeping the spread low so hospitals don’t get overwhelmed – and that has worked! You missed a season and now feel hard done by?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So all these sports camps that remained open have has no positive tests. So tell me again how that has any freaking impact on you? Seems more selfish to deny kids their childhoods.
@ Please
I agree. It is very selfish to deny the children their childhood, but too many people do not see it that way. Too many people believe the words coming out of a politicians (elected or non-elected) mouth without thinking for themselves. Too many people believe that if they themselves are compromised that everyone should live like them as well. Too many people are unwilling to look at actual data points to come to a decision.
How do you know a politician is lying? Their mouth is moving.
Traveling out of state involves exposure to hundreds or thousands of people (planes, hotels, events, socializing) and close lodging with all the other team mates. It is legitimately a high risk situation contagion-wise for something which is ultimately not in any way necessary and actually meaningfully jeopardizes the health of the people playing it. We all know that maybe 1% of the people on these football trips will be wearing a real respirator, the rest will be wearing cotton masks, and incorrectly, and infrequently.
Anon… well, then if you believe that, then you would condemn the politicians for travelling to a conference in Hawaii. And, if you didn’t do so, that makes you a hypocrite. Either it is ok for all or none.
Football is more dangerous than covid for someone under 18. Way more.
You’re right!
Cower-in-Place will continue until everyone in California thinks like Comrade Newsom. As for me and my house, we will move to a different state. And take our money with us.
Bye-Bye…oh wait. You’re probably like most of the blowhards on this site that are tough keyboard cowboys. Take a picture as you cross the state line to your new home. Don’t worry, no one is holding their breath.
I’m no expert, but my kid plays baseball and soccer, has been practicing both since April, has been to various tournaments in Arizona and Nevada. Yet not a single player, parent or family member has come up positive.
Just sayin’
@Leeland – guess you all are just lucky! Assume that all of you got tested before and after each tournament right? But no need because the business the coaches are in is “essential” right? They need to make the big bucks of running the teams is more important to them than health risks. Just sayin’
Comments are closed.