Phase III Guidelines (click on Link)

Feeling Sick:

• Players, coaches, and spectators (family, friends, and general fans) - if you are feeling sick you are required to stay home.  
• To participate or attend, organizers should ensure that participants, volunteers, coaches and spectators must show no signs or symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days.
• Participants, organizers, spectators, volunteers and facility employees in high-risk categories should not participate or attend organized sport activities.
• Players will need to check-in at the start of every practice with a coach to answer questions about how the player feels. 

WHAT IF SOMEONE ARRIVES SICK OR BECOMES SICK DURING, AFTER AN ORGANIZATIONS ACTIVITY

• If any individual develops symptoms of COVID-19 during the activity, they should promptly inform Wayland Little League AND Wayland Health Department and must be removed from the activity for 14 days.
• Wayland Little League will log persons (name and phone number or name and email address) who remain on site for a sustained period of time to facilitate contact tracing, including staff, participants, and spectators.
• Wayland Little League must post notice to employees, workers, and participants of important health information and relevant safety measures as outlined in government guidelines.

GENERAL PLAY / SPORTS ACTIVITIES

• During Phase II, limited baseball and softball activity is allowed for players; players must maintain 6 feet of distance at all times and there should be no contact between players.  Wayland Little League will conduct informal small group sessions during phase II simply as way to provide supervision for players to get throwing and some swings in during this phase.

• During Phase II, fields are limited to only 12 people at a time (updated on June 15th from 10 to 12 players).

• Scrimmages, organized games and tournaments are not allowed in Phase II. 

No Handshakes/Personal Contact Celebrations:

• Players and coaches should take measures to prevent all but the essential contact necessary during practice. This should include refraining from handshakes, high fives, fist/elbow bumps, chest bumps, group celebrations, etc.
• During Phase III, there will be no post-game handshake lines.  Teams will 'tip their cap' to their opponent at the end of each game.

Drop Off & Pick-Up Procedures :

• Players and families should vacate the field/facility as soon as is reasonably possible after the conclusion of their practice to minimize unnecessary contact with players, coaches, and spectators from the next practice, ideally within 15 minutes.

• Wayland Little League will stagger arrival and drop-off times or locations by cohort (group) or put in place other protocols to limit contact between groups and with chaperones as much as possible.  Wayland Little League will not have any programs back-to-back.

• Athletes MUST arrive dressed for practice.  Players are encouraged to wear shorts during phase II. There will be no sliding during this phase or game play.

• Athletes will have their own bottle of sanitizer in their bag.  Coaches will have one as well on premises.

• Players will sanitize their hands at the start of every practice while checking-in with his or her coach.

• Athletes MUST leave immediately after practice: no recreational play or loitering is allowed.

DRINKS AND SNACKS:

• There will be no sharing of water bottles or team coolers.  Players are expected to bring their own and have them properly labeled.

• Coaches cannot apply sunscreen and bug repellant to players. This is consistent year-round.

• No shared food or drink may be provided during any activities for participants or spectators (e.g., concession stands or team snacks).

• No use of public water bubblers, fountains or bottle fillers if present on site.

• Athletes, managers/coaches, and umpires should bring their own personal drinks to all team activities. Drinks should be labeled with the person’s name.

• Individuals should take their own drink containers home after each activity for cleaning and sanitation or use single-use bottles.

• There MUST be no use of shared or team beverages.

• Teams should not share any snacks or food. Players should bring individual, pre-packaged food if needed.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):

• During Phase III, all managers/coaches, volunteers, umpires, etc., MUST wear FACE COVERINGS wherever applicable, such as cloth face coverings and protective medical gloves (if they personally require it).
• Players must wear a mask while at-bat and on the bases and in their assigned seating area. No exceptions!
• Players should wear cloth face coverings when in close contact areas and in places where recommended social distancing is challenging or not feasible. 
• Players should not wear protective medical gloves on the field during game play.
• Players will wear their mask around their neck while in the field.
• Face coverings should otherwise be worn by coaches, volunteers, other staff, officials, youth chaperones, and spectators in accordance with MA guidelines to prevent against the transmission of COVID-19 throughout the duration of the activity.
• (Additional guidance on this topic coming from Little League International at the start of phase III): Players will be permitted to wear a cloth face covering on the field during game play (phase 3), if they so choose, based on any directive of a medical provider or individual determination of the player/parent/guardian.  Wayland Little League will provide every player with a gaiter for the season.
• Cloth face coverings should not be placed on young children under age 2, anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.
• During Phase III, umpires will position themselves behind the pitcher (6 feet +) and will not call the game from being the catcher.

Dugouts:

• During Phase III, only one coach and two players will be allowed in the dugout. Players will be spread out behind the fence appropriately for games.  Wayland Little League designate select fields as 'game fields' and 'practice fields' if needed.
• All other players will be spread out on the bleachers or behind the dugout or fencing.
• Players will arrive with their mask on and place all equipment in their designated area.

Player Equipment:

• No personal player bat bags/equipment bags ARE allowed in the dugout. Player equipment MUST be spaced accordingly outside the dugout to prevent direct contact.
• Players MUST have their own individual batter’s helmet, glove, bat, and catcher’s equipment. 
• Measures WILL be enacted to avoid, or minimize, equipment sharing when feasible (WLL will not allow sharing of ANY equipment)
• Some critical equipment may not be able to be obtained by every individual. When it is necessary to share critical or limited equipment, all surfaces of each piece of shared equipment must be cleaned first and then disinfected with an EPA-approved disinfectant against COVID-19 and allowed sufficient time to dry before used by a new player. Increased attention should be paid to detailed cleaning of all equipment directly contacting the head and face (catcher’s mask, helmets).

·  Player’s equipment (e.g. bags, helmets, bats, gloves, etc.) should be cleaned and disinfected after each use by a parent/guardian/caretaker, where applicable.

·  ADULTS disinfecting equipment are encouraged to use gloves while using disinfectants and follow the manufacturer’s directions for use. All disinfectants should be stored properly, in a safe area, out of reach of children.

BASEBALLS AND SOFTBALLS:

• Wayland Little League has purchased brand new baseballs for the 2020 season and will disinfect after practices.
• Baseballs and softballs will be rotated through on a regular basis, at least every two innings during Phase 3, to limit individual contact. 
• Teams will supply their own baseballs.
• Foul balls landing outside the field of play should be retrieved by participating players, coaches, and umpires. No spectators should retrieve the ball.

Spitting, Sunflower Seeds, Gum, etc.:

• All players and coaches are to refrain from spitting, chewing gum or  seeds at all times, including in dugout areas and on the playing field.  Players will be reminded of this at the start of every practice.

Spectators: (During Phase  III)

• During phase III, families are allowed to attend the games, however, they must wear a mask and sit away from the dugouts.

• Parents are asked to stay on premises if weather may become an issue.

• Spectators must wear masks. No exceptions.

• All spectators will watch the practice while maintaining social distant protocols. Wayland Little League has designated specific areas at each field well-beyond the proximity of the field for parents to watch.

• All spectators MAY NOT USE the bleachers at the fields.  Spectators may bring their own chairs or blanket to sit on.  Spectators should sit 10' from other families in all directions.   During Phase  III, if you have children who like/need to run around please sit on the outside of the seating area so they are not running through spectators.

• All spectators MUST wear masks and follow Wayland health guidelines when social distancing is not possible, such as walking to and from your car.

REQUIRED: TRAINING FOR COACHES TO INCLUDE NEW COVID-19 RESPONSIBILITIES

• Wayland Little League has sent out over six emails detailing proper procedures and protocols, as well as hosted numerous Zoom meetings for coaches, assistant coaches, and parents.

• Organizers must educate all participants and spectators on the applicable protocols for the relevant activity, protocols for entering/leaving the facility, and any other hygiene requirements

• SOCIAL DISTANCING AND HYGIENE PROTOCOLS

• COACHES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR:

  • Ensuring social distance of players, coaches, staff and spectators.  Wayland Little League will also appoint a safety officer on site for all games during phase III to ensure compliance of the protocols.

  • To enforce one adult per athlete (only during phase II)

• Players will be responsible for bringing their own hand disinfectant as part of their equipment.  The team will have their own as well.

Misc.

• NO PORTABLE OR TEMPORARY TOILETS WILL BE PROVIDED

• NO DOGS ALLOWED AT TOWN BASEBALL PARKS

• NO TRASH RECEPTACLES - CARRY-IN/CARRY OUT

• PLAYGROUNDS REMAIN CLOSED IN PHASE II & III

While these protocols may sound exhaustive, they are simply being used to ensure the safest possible experience for our parents and players.  We are appreciative of Wayland Recreation's help in detailing our plan so we can provide our community with a fun activity and in a responsible manner.

Thank You!

 Interested in becoming a sponsor of Wayland Little League?

Email sponsorship@waylandlittleleague.org