New rules for youth sports are now in place at the Jimmie Carroll Sports Complex to help prevent the spread of the COVID virus.
Effective this Friday, October, 16, the guidelines for attending and participating in games at the Complex are as follows:
There will be a limit of 40 spectators per team, which will be done through a voucher system. Coaches for each team will receive 40 vouchers to give to his/her team’s fans, and anyone without a voucher will not be allowed to come into the Complex. This is being done to keep the building occupancy at 25 percent and seating occupancy at 40 percent to allow fans to spread out.
Face coverings are now required at all times by spectators. Players and coaches must wear masks until they are on their bench, and then they can be removed.
Spectators are discouraged from bringing siblings or small children, who also must have vouchers to enter the Complex. Children that attend must sit on the bleachers with their parents and cannot run around common areas.
There will be a green and red light posted outside the Complex that will indicate when spectators and teams can enter the Complex. This will allow staff to sanitize bleachers between games and prevent overcrowding before and after games.
Spectators must sign in and sit only on their team’s side to allow for possible contact tracing.
The middle row of the bleachers will be blocked off to allow for more space between spectators. Spectators are asked to sit with their family unit and to keep some distance between themselves and others.
Once a game is finished, players and spectators will exit out the back door to the parking lot. There will be no handshakes, high fives, or mingling of players from other teams after games have ended.
“These rules are in place to make sure everyone is safe when they come through our doors,” said Parks Director Mike Davis, who indicated the rules were developed based on guidelines from the city, county, and other sports venues and organizations across the nation.
Davis said Parks employees will be on hand to enforce the rules and is asking for the public’s patience and understanding during games. “We realize these are challenging times, but we’re relying on teams and spectators to follow the rules so we can safely have a youth sports season,” he said. “These measures are in place to ensure the health of our players, coaches, spectators, and staff.”
