Cooperation needed to help enforce COVID protocols, make sure we have a season
Tuesday, January 5th, 2021
The 2021 tournament season is upon us. And with that comes a lot of questions regarding COVID-19 protocols that are in place at events taking place throughout the state.
The COVID-19 protocols for Badger Region-sponsored events in the state of Wisconsin are driven by what local mandates are in place. Certain counties and cities are more strict with capacity regulations than others, and the tournaments in those locations must adhere to those guidelines. Facilities can choose to be more restrictive if they would like, but not less restrictive.
Everyone in attendance (including players, coaches, officials and spectators) MUST wear a mask over their mouth and nose. There are no exceptions to this. If people cannot wear a mask for health reasons, for the safety of everyone else, the Region asks they not attend the event.
“Our goal throughout COVID-19 has been to provide opportunities for players to play,” said Badger Region Executive Director Jennifer Armson-Dyer. “There are numerous studies that show the benefits of physical activity during this time, and also the negative effects when players do not have this. To reach this goal, we NEED the help of parents and adults to help make sure protocols are being followed and understood by the players.”
The rules are in place for a reason. While a staff member at a tournament might not be on hand every minute of the day to enforce the rules, it is expected that adults (spectators, officials and coaches) do their best to police themselves and their teams.
“We need adults to be adults,” Armson-Dyer said. “We need adults not to try to sneak extra people into facilities. We need adults to follow mask mandate protocols by wearing masks over their nose and mouth. We need adults to use common sense and socially distance themselves. We need adults to understand that we aren’t using down refs in some situations where the court setup may be too tight, and therefore some calls may be missed. We need adults to afford the officials, coaches, players, spectators and administrators the grace to do what they can in these unique circumstances to allow the athletes to play the game. We are doing everything we can to allow some spectators into events, but we cannot promise that this will continue if adults cannot be adults. We are all in this together and we ask for rational communication if there is a concern so that we can work on solutions together.”
Differences at events
There will be variances in rules at events due to geography and the size of the event and the amount of space in a facility. Some events can allow more spectators if the building capacity is larger or the county regulations are loosened. Some events might allow fewer spectators based on indoor regulations set by the county or by the club or tournament director hosting the event.
These differences are not set by the Badger Region unless the Region is running the event. The events run by the Badger Region include the Badger Region Power League (BRPL), Badger Region Qualifier, Badger Region Championships, Dale Rohde Memorial Tournament, and the Badger Region Youth Fall Volleyball League (BRYFVL).
If you are attending those events, the Badger Region staff and board of directors decide how many spectators are allowed which adheres to the strictest of recommendations from local governments and the CDC.
“Badger Region has provided all tournament directors and club directors suggested guidelines and protocols that we recommend, but due to the local variances, the local event is responsible for setting and following the final protocol,” Armson-Dyer said.
Tournaments not mentioned above have spectator limits and other COVID-related policies for non-members set by the facility and the tournament directors.
Badger Region officials
Badger Region certified officials have been given recommendations from the region on how to adjust their work responsibilities during the annual officials meeting.
However, officials are not the mask police for athletes or spectators. The responsibility of making sure athletes stay masked on the court is the job of the coaching staff. The tournament director is responsible for spectators wearing masks and making sure they maintain proper social distancing in the bleachers, in line at restrooms or waiting to pay at the door.
Before each match officials will conduct a traditional USAV captains’ meeting and coin toss with one captain from each team properly spaced 6 feet apart.
Officials must wear a mask at all times while officiating a Badger Region sanctioned event. Officials can use a whistle under the mask or use an electronic whistle. Line judging flags are not recommended unless the official sanitizes the flags between every user.
Teams will be instructed by the official to not change sides in between sets or during a third deciding set and not to touch hands with another teammate while making a substitution. If a floor captain approaches an official during the match, they must remain 6 feet apart and keep masks on while talking.
At the conclusion of the match, the official will instruct each team to wave to the opponent rather than shake hands. Officials must sanitize or delegate the work team to sanitize the score table in between each match.
Badger Region Program specialist Sara Voigt, who is in charge of assigning officials to Badger Region-sanctioned events, will follow up with referees after events to see if any of these protocols need to be adjusted.
Badger Region Power League
Power League starts Jan. 9 and with it come the following COVID-19 related protocols:
1) All spectators, refs, coaches, and players will need to wear a mask upon entering the facility and will be required to wear masks over both their mouth and noses for the entirety of the event. No exceptions.
2) Spectators will be limited, and that capacity will be enforced at each facility. Spectators will be charged $5 admission per day and must check-in with their team. Center Court and the Rec Plex are able to allow no more than 1 spectator per player. Champions Center is allowing no more than 5 spectators per team with the number of teams that we have playing at the facility. The spectators are for the entirety of their teams play for that day. Details in regards to how spectator admission will be handled at each site will be sent to the teams at each site individually.
3) Generally, teams will not be switching sides during a match. The side chosen at the coin flip will be the side you play on for the entire match, unless a court is deemed to have an advantageous side.
4) Teams should not shag balls for the other team, unless both coaches agree to this before starting warm-ups.
5) Refs will make sure to personally or through delegation of the work team disinfect their score table and volleyball after each match. Coaches will be asked to disinfect their team benches prior to leaving their bench area.
6) Each match will have a reffing team assigned. For safety purposes and social distancing, we have been working with not using an R2 for some matches this season. We are going to NOT use an R2 for the following divisions this weekend: 14-Elite, 14-Select, 14-Regional, 16-Select, and 16- Regional. We will re-evaluate this process after the first weekend of BRPL and would encourage club directors to give us professional feedback about this change.
7) Temperature checks will not be administered the first weekend of Power League. Although many sources had questioned the effectiveness of temperature checks months ago, now that winter has come in Wisconsin, thermal temperature checks have become grossly inaccurate for players/spectators coming in directly from being outside. We believe that by eliminating this process we will limit the amount of time people may be in a line and not social distancing, so it is better to eliminate this step.
