Athletics & Extracurricular Activities, 2020-21

Parents/guardians are responsible for completing a daily health screening of their child for COVID-19 symptoms. While ultimately it is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to affirm that they believe their child is free of COVID-19 symptoms, older students will be expected to self-evaluate prior to participating in athletics or extracurricular activities and in advance of any school-sponsored trip. Students may not attend practice, competition, or other school activities if they are experiencing any illness symptoms.

Coaching staff are responsible for checking the temperatures of all student participants:

• Upon their arrival to the site of practice or competition;
• Prior to allowing them to board a bus for away competition, if their temperatures were not checked upon arrival at the school; and
• Upon arrival at the site of an away competition, if they arrived via alternate transportation.

Any student who registers a fever (100.0ºF or 37.8ºC ) will need to isolate from others and be sent home.

Any student who displays or reports symptoms of COVID-19 during practice or competition will be excluded from participation. The student will be asked to wear a mask or face covering and will be separated from others by at least 10 feet. The student's parent/guardian will be contacted to pick up the student or send the student home if the student is a driver.

The student will be given a Return to School Letter (Carta de Regreso a la Escuela) including instructions for next steps, along with the Return to School Plan Form (Formulario de Regreso a la Escuela), which must be completed by a health care provider before the symptomatic individual can again participate in athletics or extracurricular activities. If the student does not see a doctor, the student may resume participation when they receive a negative COVID-19 test result and have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication, or the student may resume participation 10 days after the onset of symptoms, so long as they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.

Please note: The exclusion and return to play criteria also apply to students who develop symptoms outside of practice or competition. While awaiting evaluation and/or testing, all siblings or other household members who attend Albemarle County Public Schools must also remain at home.

If a student athlete, coach, official, or other person attending a practice or competition is diagnosed with COVID-19, the Athletic Director and ACPS COVID-19 Coordinator or designated infection control officer (who may be the school nurse) will work with the health department to determine if quarantine of close contacts is necessary. If quarantine (isolation at home) is advised:

• Close contacts who do not live in the same household as the diagnosed individual ("non-household contacts") will be asked to stay home and self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days from the last day of exposure. The full 14-day quarantine period must be observed; individuals cannot test out of quarantine.
• Individuals who live in the same household as the infected person need to self-quarantine (stay home) and monitor for symptoms while the infected person is home and for 14 days after the infected person has been released from isolation. If the household member is able to maintain complete separation from the infected person in their home (no contact, no time together in the same room, no sharing of any spaces), then they can follow the quarantine timeline for non-household contacts.
• Individuals who are asymptomatic after the quarantine period may return to participation.

If a student athlete or staff member in quarantine develops symptoms, they should notify their coach (who will inform the Athletic Director) and obtain a COVID-19 test at the provider of their choice. The symptomatic individual must isolate for 10 days after the onset of symptoms, regardless of where they were in their quarantine schedule.

Any student who is asked to quarantine for an exposure that occurred outside of school-sponsored athletics or extracurricular activities must be excluded from participation for 14 days from their last day of exposure to the COVID-19-positive individual.

Please note: Athletes may not forcefully expectorate (eject saliva and/or mucus out of their mouths) at practices or during competitions.

Hand Hygiene

Hand sanitizer and restrooms for hand washing will be available during all athletics events. Handwashing signage has been placed throughout each school building to encourage students and school personnel in this effort. Hand sanitizer stations have been added to various locations within each school. All hand sanitizer meets the CDC requirements for alcohol content.

Enhanced Cleaning and Disinfection Protocols

Each athletic space (gyms, locker rooms, training rooms, field houses) has hypochlorous acid disinfectant wipes that are safe to use without gloves. Athletes can assist with using the disinfectant wipes for their personal spaces and equipment as needed. Bleachers will be kept closed to the extent possible to minimize surfaces that need to be disinfected.

Athletics departments deploy mobile disinfection kits as needed for athletics events. Kits include gloves, disposable masks, and disinfectant spray and wipes.

Disinfection Areas and Responsible Parties

Custodial duties to be performed before* and after athletic events:

• Clean and disinfect urinals, sinks, toilets, partition handles in group restrooms used by athletics and restock paper products.
• Clean and disinfect athletics areas used by teams.

Athletic Department duties to be performed before,* during and after athletic events:

• Clean and disinfect athletics equipment (wrestling mats, basketballs, blocks, batons, etc.).
• Clean and disinfect training room equipment.
• Disinfect materials used during event check-in.

*Cleaning will only take place before an event if the area was used during the school day.

Outside Air Delivery

The outside air delivery to auxiliary gymnasiums and main gymnasiums has been at least doubled.  

Running HVAC Systems Pre- & Post-Occupancy

Athletic area HVAC systems will run 2 hours before and after each athletic event.  

HEPA Units in Athletics Spaces

Portable HEPA filters with ionization have been added to locker rooms, training rooms, and field houses.

Home team coaches and student athletes should follow entrance and check-in procedures at the direction of their Head Coach and/or Athletic Director. Coaches are responsible for conducting the entrance screening questionnaire, temperature checks, and attendance sign-in procedures for their respective team(s).

Everyone entering an Albemarle County Public Schools facility must answer “No” to all questions on an entrance screening questionnaire, register a temperature below 100.0ºF, and sign in on the appropriate attendance form as directed by the host school staff. These requirements apply to all of the following:

• Visiting team coaches, student athletes, and team personnel;
• Staff deemed essential to the operations of the event (e.g., game workers);
• Officials/Referees;
• Media (with appropriate media identification); and
• Parents/Spectators (if applicable).

Buildings will be available for entry and the Check Station will be ready to conduct entrance screenings one hour (60 minutes) prior to the start of the first scheduled contest. All persons other than host school staff are asked to refrain from entering the building before this time. Visiting team personnel are asked to enter the building together with the Head Coach present, regardless of the mode of transportation to the event.

Rosters will be exchanged by Athletic Directors prior to the contest and will be provided to personnel working the Check Station. Anyone not listed on a roster must be verified by a Principal, the Athletic Administrator, or the Head Varsity Coach, no exceptions. There are no ticket sales or general admissions. No VHSL Passes, District Passes, Gold Card Passes, or School Passes will be accepted for admission.

All persons entering the building and awaiting the Check Station are asked to maintain six (6) feet of distance between other persons.

In the event that an adult does not successfully complete the entrance procedures (e.g., the adult answers "Yes" to a screening question or registers a temperature of 100.0ºF or higher), the adult will be asked to leave the school building, or the adult must wait in a designated room if transportation is not available.

In the event that a student does not successfully complete the entrance procedures, the student will be directed to a designated room where they will be asked to wait under the supervision of an adult representative from the student's school until transportation is available.

Entrance Screening Resources

• Entrance Screening for Students
• Entrance Screening for Employees & Visitors

Teams

• Locker Rooms and/or Changing Rooms will be made available to Home and Visiting teams. Locker Rooms are to be used only as changing areas, as needed, and for access to restroom facilities for each team.
• Locker Rooms shall not be used for team meetings before games, at half-time, or after games. Locker Rooms shall not be used as a congregating area for student athletes and/or coaches.
• Locker Rooms will be cleaned and sanitized by the Albemarle County Public Schools Building Services team after each event.
• Each Locker Room shall have an ionized air filtration system.

Officials

• Officials will be provided with a designated Locker Room and/or Changing Room by the Home school athletic administrator.
• The Locker Room designated for officials will be cleaned and sanitized after each event by the Albemarle County Public Schools Building Services team.
• The Locker Room designated for officials shall have an ionized air filtration system.

Team Bench Areas

Each designated team bench area shall have 18 chairs provided for use during games. Chairs shall be positioned in designated locations with six (6) feet of distance between them. Chairs shall not be relocated by team personnel. Each team’s coaching staff shall designate seats for their respective team.

If the total number of team personnel exceeds 18, bleacher seating designated by the host school administration shall be utilized by additional team managers, statisticians, and assistant coaches. Additional chairs beyond 18 in the team bench area shall not be provided.

If there are multiple games, these chairs will be sanitized between games by a host school staff member. Bleacher seating also will be provided with an area designated for each participating school for non-participating team members (e.g., Varsity team members during the JV game). Six (6) feet of distance should be maintained between all persons utilizing bleacher seating.

The host school’s Athletic Training staff will provide water coolers for each team. All team personnel must provide their own water bottles and/or single-use cups.

Scorers Table Areas

Scorers Tables will be designated by the host school Athletic Administration to provide distanced seating of six (6) feet for the Clock Operator, one (1) Scorebook Keeper for each team, and one (1) Public Address Announcer. Additional chairs should not be used at these tables. Additional team statisticians should be included in the 18 chairs in the team bench area or utilize bleacher seating.

Team personnel who are videotaping games shall ensure six (6) feet of distance from other team personnel using designated areas provided by the host school administration/staff.

All participating teams are asked to remove any equipment, trash, and personal items from the team bench area as soon as possible following the end of the contest.

Entrance & Exit for Multiple Games

In the event of multiple games, students will not be permitted to leave the building and return. Parents may not enter buildings beyond the Check Station to pick up a student due to personnel/spectator limitations.

Live Streaming

Live streaming of athletic events will be available whenever possible. To access live stream links, please visit the host school’s respective athletics website (provided below) and click on “CALENDAR.” Streaming links will appear as a camera icon with the word “LIVE” across it.

• Albemarle High School | Athletic Director: Deb Tyson, CAA | 434-974-4308
• Monticello High School | Athletic Director: Matthew Pearman, Sr., CAA | 434-244-3130
• Western Albemarle High School | Athletic Director: Steve Heon, CAA | 434-823-8705

Equipment

• Visiting teams should provide their own equipment, including warm-up basketballs. The Home team will have a minimum of two (2) basketballs available for game play. One will be in use while the other will be sanitized for use at the discretion of game officials.
• For wrestling matches, two mats will be utilized. Matches will alternate between mats as each mat is sanitized between each match.
• Hand sanitizer will be provided in multiple locations throughout the facility by the Home Athletic Administration and/or the Athletic Training staff.

Cheerleaders

The Home team may have cheerleaders present at the discretion of the respective Athletic Administration. Cheerleaders will remain in a designated area for the duration of each contest with a minimum of 10 feet of distance from the playing area. Cheerleaders must wear face coverings at all times.

Face Coverings

Face coverings are to be worn at all times by all persons. The only exception is participants in the contest who are on the playing surface and actively engaged in physical activity. When a participant exits the playing surface to the team bench area, they are expected to wear their face covering immediately. Students wishing to wear their face covering during competition may do so; face coverings worn during competition are subject to approval by each school’s Athletic Director.

COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies & Procedures

All persons in attendance, including Visiting Team personnel, officials, or media are asked to follow all COVID-19 mitigation strategies and procedures. While this packet outlines norms utilized across Albemarle County Public Schools, each school facility may have nuances that require individual differences in procedures at the discretion of the Principal(s) and/or Athletic Administrator(s).