I won’t lie, it hasn’t been easy trying to play roller derby in the midst of a global pandemic. It takes work, patience, and flexibility. So how do we do it? Here’s what PRD has been doing to keep practices safe and meet the needs of everyone in the league.
Weekly COVID numbers check - Every Tuesday I check the % positive tests and the average # of daily cases over the last 7 days. I send out tables and charts to PRD, BAD and CDG (which covers most of the Bay Area leagues).
If the % positive tests goes above 7% we revert back to non-contact practices until the numbers start to come back down. This helps ensure, while there is an increase in transmission locally, that it doesn’t happen at practice.
We require all participants to be up to date on vaccinations - this includes boosters.
We require masking indoors and outdoors. While most of our skaters over the summer felt safe without masks at our outdoor practices, we had a few that were more comfortable masking and so we maintained it for the whole league to make sure we were creating an environment that was safe for everyone.
We require good masking protocols. No bandanas or gaiters can be worn as masks, masks should fit snugly against the face. We require at least cloth or surgical masks. During increased caseloads we strongly recommend N95/KN95/KF94 masks to also help protect the wearer.
We have a strict do not come to practice if sick policy. Regardless if it’s COVID or the common cold, no one wants to be exposed to illness.
If a skater has been exposed to COVID or has symptoms we ask that they follow the CDC guidelines and they test negative before returning to practice.
While this may seem like a lot, we’ve had a great group to help us navigate through all the requirements and a team that has been flexible to the changing conditions. We’ve had lots of fun practicing and it’s totally been worth it. Looking forward to a time when we don’t have to track COVID numbers but thankful to have precautions we can take to protect our team and be able to practice together.