Athletics & Activities

COVID-19 INFORMATION/PLANS

Return to Play Guidelines  

Fall 2020

Screening:

• All students are required to pass a screening before entering the building for school each day. On the weekends, students will be required to pass a screening before a practice,a game or boarding the bus. (See Cheverus handbook for guidelines)

Masks:

• Masks are required both inside and outside except when during active practice or competition. Players must wear face coverings when not engaged in active play (during coaching strategy sessions, on the sidelines, water breaks, etc).
• Coaches and staff are required to wear masks at all times. 
• To facilitate the use of a face covering, coaches will use an artificial noisemaker in place of a whistle. 
•  Cloth masks must be washed daily.

Sanitization:

• Students must wash or sanitize their hands before arriving at practice or games.
• After practice/games conclude, students must sanitize their hands immediately.
• Sanitize stations will be available for use at each field and outside the restrooms in the concession stand.

Athletic Training Room:

• No more than 3 athletes in the AT room at one time, allowing for 6 feet spacing between each.
• Individuals must sanitize when entering the room.
• Treatment and taping tables: must be disinfected between each use.
• No ice bath use unless heat illness related. Ice packs available but not wrapped on.
• No hydrocollator use.
• Disinfect all surfaces prior to leaving the AT room.
• Athletic Trainers will wash hands prior to every treatment.

Guidelines for practices:

• Student athletes must stay socially distant before and after practices. 
• Discourage unnecessary physical contact such as high fives, handshakes, fist bumps or hugs.
• Public hydration will not be available at fields. This includes shared water bottles and water sources. Each athlete will be required to bring their own individualized and labeled bottles. If an athlete arrives to practice or competition without an individualized bottle, they will not be allowed to partake in the practice/competition.
• Bags and personal items must remain 6 feet apart. Physical guides, such as cones and signs will be provided to help everyone remain physically distanced.
• Locker room use- see below.
• If carpooling with individuals outside of one’s household, wear face coverings, increase ventilation and and use hand sanitizer. 
• There may be no sharing of gear. This includes shirts, shorts, pinnies, cleats, mouthguards, etc. 
• Athletes should bring and wear their own braces (ankle, knee, wrist).
• Athletes should bring their own labeled equipment (water bottles, foam rollers, ankle braces, etc)
• After the conclusion of practice, students need to leave campus to head home. There is no loitering allowed and students should shower once they return home from practices.

Coaches Guidelines:

• All coaches are required to take the NFHS “ COVID-19 for Coaches and Athletic Administrators” training course.
• Coaches are required to take attendance daily and keep records of attendance.
• Coaches are required to be screened daily by our Athletic Trainers. Screenings will take place upon the coach’s arrival on campus and will be conducted outside the Athletic Training room by the Athletic Trainers. 
• Once the coaches pass the daily screening, they will exit the Athletic Training room by the ice machine and pick up their sanitizing kit on the labeled table. Kits must be brought outside for use during practices/games and returned to the table outside the training room after every practice and/or game.
• Coaches are required to wear masks on campus at all times including sidelines during games.
• Coaches will be provided an electronic whistle to use during practices. 
• Coaches will sanitize all shared equipment after each practice. 
• Coaches are expected to stay with their team until all members have been picked up by a parent after every practice and/or game.
• Coaches shall help enforce that kids do not loiter after games and in the parking lot. Players must leave campus immediately following the conclusion of practice.
• Coaches will communicate policies with players prior to the first practice. 
• Contact Athletic Trainers in the case of injured athletes. Keep the injured athlete in place. 
• Coaches should provide socially distant cones for personal items.
• Remind athletes they must stay home if they are feeling ill or have any symptoms of COVID-19.
• Shared equipment will need to be sanitized after each practice by the coaching staff. 
• Remind athletes-spitting is not permitted.
• If isolation is necessary due to development of Covid symptoms, document and refer appropriately.

Locker room/after school guidelines:

• The locker rooms will only be accessible from 2:15-3:00PM Mon-Fri. The locker rooms will be CLOSED on Saturday’s. 
• Each team will have a set time to access the locker room to change.
• Loitering is not allowed in the locker room.
• There are designated changing areas marked with an “X” where you will be able to change in the locker rooms. Due to the size of the locker rooms, the men’s locker room can hold 14 socially distanced athletes at a time and the women’s can hold 12.
• Nothing can be left in the locker room and lockers cannot be utilized. The locker room has a carry in/carry out policy. Athletes will bring their bags to practice where they will be given a socially distant visual marker to keep their belongings during practice.
• The Indoor track is only open to student athletes who are waiting for their turn to get into the locker room.
• The locker room will be staffed by a member of the athletic staff. They will ensure that the locker room limits are enforced.
• To use the training room students will enter and exit through different doors. They will enter through the front door, change and then exit through the back door. There will be stanchions to direct students back to the front by the entrance so they can “check out” with the staff member. 
• Students must immediately exit through the hallway and head outside after changing.
• There will be no loitering in the indoor track or hallways.
• Please proceed to the outdoor tent, cafeteria or car if you have a later practice. 
• Once a student leaves campus, they will be subject to another screening before practice begins. That screening will occur at the back door by the athletic training office.
• Students must drop off their sports bags in a socially distant manner on the indoor track
• Locker rooms will be locker during the day and opened at 2:15

Locker room schedule:

• 2:15-2:25 Cross Country and Field Hockey
• 2:25-2:40 Football and Volleyball
• 2:40-3:00 Boys Soccer and Girls Soccer

*Students should shower immediately following practice as well as wash their workout clothes*

Attention Stag Fans!

We will be LIVE STREAMING our HOME games this fall!

We have created a new Cheverus Athletics Facebook page (give us a like!) and we will be live streaming via Facebook Live to make sure you don’t miss the action. This is a great opportunity for us to expand our fan base. You can share the Cheverus Athletics Facebook page with friends and family across the country!

A reminder to our dedicated fans: in accordance with the SMAA guidelines and the Governor’s Executive Order regarding outdoor and indoor gatherings, there will be no fans allowed at games. We know this is disappointing. At Cheverus, our mission is to educate our young men and women to be people for and with others. Protecting the health and safety of our community is critical during this global pandemic - it is for the common good. We know you love to watch your student-athletes play and have created a plan for live streaming home games so we can come together as a community virtually to support our student-athletes. #gostags

Finally, we have a favor to ask: We have created a YouTube channel (link) dedicated to Cheverus Athletics. In order to live stream from YouTube, we need to have 1,000 followers. Can you click on this link and subscribe to our channel? We will be using Facebook Live in the short-term, but hope to share more video in the future and would appreciate your subscription!

GO STAGS!

Southwestern Maine Activities Association

“For Immediate Release - Thursday, August 20, 2020”: Southwestern Maine Activities Association postpones in-person interscholastic athletics until Tuesday, September 8, 2020

On Wednesday, August 19, 2020, the Cumberland and York County superintendents voted to delay in-person interscholastic athletics to a date no sooner than Tuesday, September 8.

This date represents the official start date the MPA announced in July. We are awaiting word from the MPA on the status of the Fall Sports Season and what that may look like. SMAA schools cannot risk a further delay to the start of the school year by holding athletic programming on school grounds for two weeks prior to the start of school (MPA Phase 4 summer conditioning program). By delaying until September 8th, SMAA schools can focus on starting the school year and open schools without the fear of on campus transmission occurring through our own sports programs prior to that.

With MPA guidance due to arrive next week, SMAA schools will be able to determine next steps regarding the fall sports season with a full understanding of what the season will look like. This will allow the association and its member schools an opportunity to develop a comprehensive plan for interscholastic athletics that may have reduced or canceled interscholastic seasons. SMAA Athletic Administrators