May 5, 2021 – Vermont Forward Plan Clarifications to School Sports Guidance
With changes May 1 in the State’s COVID-19 guidance that included advancing to Step 2 of the Vermont Forward Plan, the transition of recreational sports programs to Universal Guidance, and an updated masking policy that requires masks outdoors when you are in a crowd or with other households where you can’t maintain a 6-foot distance, there have been a number of questions about how these apply to both recreational and school-based sports programs. Please review the following clarifications.
For athletes participating in school-based sports:
- The most recent version of A Strong and Healthy Year Guidance, published by the Agency of Education states the following: All staff and students are required to wear facial coverings while in the building. They must also wear them when outside of the building if adequate physical distancing of at least six (6) feet cannot be maintained.
- Consistent with the Strong and Healthy Year guidance, athletes participating in low contact and no contact school-based spring sports (i.e., track and field, baseball and softball) are no longer required to wear masks so long as six feet of physical distance can be maintained. Baseball and softball players must wear masks while sitting in the dugout
- Athletes participating in sports involving moderate contact or close proximity must continue to wear masks at all times during practice and game play.
- All athletes must wear masks when being bused to a game or meet, in any indoor setting (i.e., locker room or training room), or participating in team-based meeting with six feet of physical distance cannot be consistently maintained.
For spectators at outdoor school-based or recreational sports events:
- Consistent with the Vermont Forward Plan, 300 unvaccinated people, plus any number of vaccinated individuals, can attend outdoor sports events as spectators.
- Spectators are not required to wear masks at outdoor sports events so long as six feet of physical distance can be maintained between households.
For spectators at indoor school-based or recreational sports events
- Consistent with the Vermont Forward Plan, one unvaccinated person per 100 square feet up to 150 unvaccinated people (whichever is less), plus any number of vaccinated people, can attend indoor sports events as spectators.
- Spectators must wear a mask at all times while attending an indoor sports event.
If an event has no way of determining if an individual is vaccinated, assume all are unvaccinated for the capacity limit.