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COVID-19

We’re closely monitoring the COVID-19 epidemic, and considering various ways to keep kids healthy during Summer clinics and camps. We’ll occasionally post updates here.

COVID-19 FAQ:

What is the Return to Play Safety Plan for camps & clinics?

Return to Play Safety Plan

Seattle Cascades Youth Clinics & Camps

March 4, 2021

Dr Leslie Yen, MD, Sports Medicine Practitioner, Swedish Hospital, is the official Cascades medical consultant and has been consulting with the Cascades regarding return to play activities.

Seattle Cascades will implement the following at all youth clinics and camps:

• Staff, participants, and all others must stay home when sick (including flu or other) or if a close contact of someone with COVID-19.

• People with underlying health conditions should consult with their medical provider regarding participation in athletic activities.

• Transportation: Limit exposure to those outside the household unit during travel. Encourage only those in the same household to travel together, and if not in the same household, travel in separate vehicles if possible. For travel groups, (groups that include more than one household in the same vehicle) all members of the travel group, including the driver, must wear a face covering and spread out as much as possible within the vehicle. Limit travel groups to those who have been in regular contact. Encourage family members to sit together. Maximize ventilation in the vehicle by opening windows.

• Check in will be a multi-part process:

  • Players will wash their hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer at check-in

  • Mask check (no un-filtered valves, no neckies, covers nose and mouth, extra masks available on-site)

  • Parent questions and any medical information will be addressed via online registration and on-site

  • Youth players will be met by a designated staff member upon arrival and have their temperatures taken. (over 100.4 will be re-taken, if still high then will not be admitted) 

  • Screened for symptoms, Cascades Screening Questions.  

  • Directed where to store gear (6’ separate from others, both gear and persons)

  • Called to their individual pods of 15.

  • Spectators ARE allowed and must maintain physical distance of at least six (6) feet between each person unless they reside within the same household. Guardians will be informed of this policy, via the “Welcome” email, in advance of the clinic and on-site if they choose to observe.

• Dismissal will proceed as follows, all players will:

  • Wear masks

  • Be released from their group of 15 and remain at least 6’ apart

  • Wash hands thoroughly

  • Go directly to guardians and leave the area

• Everyone on the site must wear an adequate face mask covering (no neckies or unfiltered valves) at all times unless eating, drinking, 20 feet or more distant from others, or performing very strenuous physical activity. 

• Clinics will include: individual drills with 6’ distance between all youth, brief 3x3 drills within the 6’ bubble, and end of clinic 30 minute scrimmage within the 15 person pod and with masks. (Ultimate is moderate risk). 

• Players will remain with their group of 15 (pod) throughout the camp. Breaks will be staggered and snacks held with their pod. At all times a buffer zone of 8-10 feet will be maintained between pods. 

• Maximum number of all people per field is 75.

• Staff and players will wash their hands at each break, beginning and end (twice per break) 20 seconds! Multiple hand sanitizing stations will be available plus soap and water upon request.

• Athletes should not share water bottles, uniforms, towels, or snacks and should not spit (saliva, sunflower seeds, etc.).

• All snacks provided by Cascades will be individually wrapped, or will be oranges and bananas.

• Discs will be disinfected between all breaks. 

• Frequent cleaning and sanitizing with a particular emphasis on commonly touched surfaces. 

• Entering and leaving the turf playfield: All campers, coaches, and camp personnel must vacate the field within 15 minutes of the end of the reservation.  All equipment and garbage must be removed from the field within 15 minutes of the end of the reservation.

• Maintain minimum six-foot separation between all employees (and customers) in all interactions when feasible. 

• Provide personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, goggles, face shields and face masks as appropriate or required to employees for the activity being performed. 

• Cloth facial coverings must be worn by every employee not working alone on the jobsite unless their exposure dictates a higher level of protection under Department of Labor & Industries safety and health rules and guidance. Neckie coverings are far less protective and not allowed. Refer to Coronavirus Facial Covering and Mask Requirements for additional details. A cloth facial covering is described in the Department of Health guidance, https://www.doh.wa.gov/Portals/1/Documents/1600/coronavirus/ClothFacemasks.pdf. 

• All areas where a person with probable or confirmed COVID-19 illness worked, touched surfaces, etc. will be cordoned off until the area and equipment is cleaned and sanitized. We will follow the cleaning guidelines set by the CDC to deep clean and sanitize. 

• A site-specific COVID-19 Supervisor shall be designated by the employer at each job site to monitor the health of employees and enforce the COVID-19 job site safety plan. 

• A worker may refuse to perform unsafe work, including hazards created by COVID-19. And, it is unlawful for their employer to take adverse action against a worker who has engaged in safety protected activities under the law if their work refusal meets certain requirements. Employees who choose to remove themselves from a worksite because they do not believe it is safe to work due to the risk of COVID-19 exposure may have access to certain leave or unemployment benefits. Employers must provide high-risk individuals covered by Proclamation 20-46 with their choice of access to available employer-granted accrued leave or unemployment benefits if an alternative work arrangement is not feasible. Other employees may have access to expanded family and medical leave included in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, access to use unemployment benefits, or access to other paid time off depending on the circumstances. Additional information is available at https://www.lni.wa.gov/agency/outreach/paid-sick-leaveand-coronavirus-covid-19-common-question.

• Keep a roster of every athlete, staff, groups and volunteers present at each practice, training session, and contest to assist with contact tracing in the event of a possible exposure. These will be kept on file for 28 days.

Quick reference:

• Attendance rosters will include group contact information. 

• Each league, organization, or club must publish and follow a “return to play” safety plan. 

• Any practice or training activities that can be done outdoors should be done outdoors. 

• Scrimmage, intra-team competitions, and league games allowed for both low and moderate (Ultimate is moderate) risk sports. 

• Scrimmage, intra-team competitions, but no competitions of any kind against other teams, allowed for high risk sports. 

• No tournaments allowed. 

• Spectators must maintain physical distance of at least six (6) feet between each person.

To better understand this policy here is a link to the current infection rate trends in every county (scroll down and click on “Summary Data Tables” for county-by-county info): https://coronavirus.wa.gov/whatyou-need-know/covid-19-risk-assessment-dashboard 

DAY CAMP: How will meal and snack time work?

• Campers will be required to clean their hands thoroughly before and afterwards. We’ll have hand sanitizing stations that include disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer.

• Staff members will wear a face mask and gloves while organizing and distributing snacks.

OVERNIGHT CAMP: How will meal time work?

• We will eat most meals in the main Camp Casey dining room, aka the “Mess Hall.” It’s a big open room ~50x100 ft, with windows on three sides. For every group that stays at Camp Casey meal times are specified and so different groups eat at different times.

• Mess Hall A seats 150+ people, and Cascades campers will be assigned a specific set of tables which will be blocked off from any other groups that eat before/after us. Furthermore, our tables & chairs will be cleaned and sanitized before and after we eat.

• In addition to the Mess Hall, there is an outdoor eating area (picnic benches!) with space for ~75. Weather permitting, we will eat meals in the open air!

• There is a limited number of people in the dining room at any given time, and when we are eating there will be a maximum of one other group eating at the same time as us. (We’ll most likely be the only group.)

• We’ll have hand sanitizer containers on every table that we eat at, and there are permanent hand sanitizing stations near restrooms in the Mess Hall.

• Campers will be required to wash their hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before and after every meal.

OVERNIGHT: What’s the sleeping arrangement like in the bunk rooms?

• The bunk rooms have rows of bunk beds, spaced out every ~10 feet. When we move players into the bunk rooms during check-in, we will maximize the space between campers.

• We have permission to rearrange the bunk beds however we like. Our plan is to only use the bottom bunk beds.

• Players will have space to store their bags & personal belongings in drawers and/or under beds. We will clearly delineate the spaces so that every kid has their own area for personal belongings.

• One coach, minimum, will be sleeping in the group bunk room and monitoring that campers use social distancing as appropriate.

• The bunk rooms will be locked and off-limits when a coach is not present.

Will players and coaches be screened or tested before camp?

• Right before camp, each camper and coach will answer a questionnaire asking whether anyone in their family or close social circle has experienced COVID-19 symptoms within the prior two weeks.

• We will react to these surveys on a case by case basis, and if a camper or coach poses any risk to others we will ask them not to attend camp.

• We’ll take every players temperature with a non-contact forehead thermometer when they arrive at camp and once per day over the course of the week.

What protocols are in place to address the risks of spreading COVID-19 during camp?

• This is an ultimate camp, and so we’ll be catching and throwing discs. In order to minimize situations when “everyone touches the same disc” we’ll use these COVID Coaching Guidelines.

  COVID Coaching Guidelines:

  1. Coaches will use twice as many discs as a group our size would normally use. For example, if a typical drill with 15 players would utilize 5-10 discs…. we’ll use a stack of 10-20 discs instead.

  2. We’ll form groups for drills that are smaller than we typically would, and groups will remain 8-10+ feet apart. For example, we’ll present a drill to 15 players and then split into two or three smaller groups.

  3. Coaches will swap out their stack of discs in between drills, and we’ll disinfect them before they’re used again.

  4. We may or may not scrimmage. If we do, players will wear masks and we’ll swap out the disc in between each point.

  5. All coaches and players will be required to wear masks.

  6. (We may evolve these guidelines and/or come up with different ones as camp draws near.)

• OVERNIGHT CAMP: we rent the facilities from Seattle Pacific University and they have a year-round presence at Camp Casey. As they monitor the COVID-19 pandemic, they are aware of the impact it has on their clients and they maintain a web page dedicated to communicating about key issues: [SPU Camp Casey COVID-19 web page]

• OVERNIGHT CAMP: in the bunk rooms and gathering places, we’ll clean & disinfect surfaces and high-touch areas on a daily basis.

What if someone shows COVID-19 symptoms during camp?

• Any camper or coach who is obviously experiencing a significant array of COVID-19 symptoms will be immediately provided a comfortable and safe space where they’ll be removed from the larger group. At that point, we’ll rely on advice from a medical expert as we determine next steps.

• If we have any indication that a camper or coach has COVID-19, we will notify primary contact people as soon as possible.

What is the refund policy?

• Our Refund/Cancellation policy is described in full on the Register page [DAY] [OVERNIGHT]

Do you have a good COVID-19 related question or concern? —> Please let us know! … Monica <monica@seattlecascades.com>

May 27th update:

We revised our Summer calendar! Assuming we achieve “Phase 3” of the WA State return to play program, we’ll host a clinic series at the tail end of June, two day camps in July, and two overnight camps in August.

• We’re kicking off our Summer programming with a 3-day clinic series June 29 - July 1. We’ll implement our COVID Coaching Guidelines (see below) in a flexible clinic format.

• In mid-late July, we have scheduled two 5-day camps in Seattle at Jefferson Park.

• It wasn’t feasible to run overnight camps in June-July, and so we’ve rescheduled them for August.

• Our Summer programming is contingent on achieving “Phase 3” of the WA State reopening program, according to Governor Inslee. [Learn more.]

• We clarified the titles of our camps, changing “Session I, II, III” to “Sessions A, B, C, D.”

May 13th update:

As it stands, we are planning to host our two Summer Camp sessions, plus a third one in August. We are making key modifications according to safety and distancing recommendations.

• We established a maximum size for Session I (45 players). This puts us well within the Washington State health guidelines, and it gives overnight campers twice as much space in the bunk rooms compared to what we’d normally use.

• We added Session III (Aug 10-14) in order to provide more space later in the Summer.

• We updated the registration dates in order to offer more flexibility and last-minute planning. Refer to Overview page.

• We updated our cancellation and refund policy. Refer to Register page.

• For sessions II and III, we have reserved twice as much space in the bunk rooms as we’ll use for overnight campers, and we have access to more space if we need.

“Health and safety first.” If health & safety guidelines are such that we should cancel one or more of our camps, we’re prepared to do so.

April 17th update:

As it stands, we are planning to host our two Summer Camp sessions with some key modifications to safety and distancing recommendations.

In late March, we moved our “standard registration” deadline from 3/31 to 5/15 in order to allow more time/flexibility with the decision to send players to camp. Our cancellation policy remains the same (see Registration page).

June 25th update:

While COVID-19 continues to pose a health risk to our community, we’re pleased to see progress in the greater Seattle area. Many counties (including King County) are in phase 2, and some counties (including Island County) are in phase 3.

• We’re still planning to run our clinics and camps, as scheduled.

• We have a Safety Plan which has been approved by Seattle Parks & Recreation. See below for overview.

• Face masks will be a requirement for upcoming clinics/camps because it’s clear that it helps reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 as per King Country phase 2 requirements.

July 7th update:

New COVID-19 cases are emerging as businesses are reopening in Washington. Meanwhile, King County and Seattle are doing better than other parts of the State.

• Our three ultimate clinics last week were great! We got our Jefferson Park field permits from Seattle Parks & Recreation just in time, and we carefully followed our Safety Plan. See below for plan overview.

• Face masks & social distancing during ultimate drills is a new experience, but coaches and players warmed up to it. Coaching in smaller groups works fine, cleaning hands between drills is easy, and sanitizing discs takes very little time.

• As it stands, we’re planning to run our DAY CAMPS as scheduled: July 13-17 and July 27-31.
  

July 20th update:

Our 5-Day Camp last week was a big success! Players and coaches were diligent with hand washing, masks, and social distancing. VERY impressive. We started each day with wellness questionnaires and temperature checks. Plenty of hand sanitizer, and disc & surface disinfecting (bleach per CDC guidelines) after every drill.

• We're getting better and better at our Safety Plan. See below for overview. The impact of COVID-19 is present in Washington State, and we are closely monitoring. 

• Coming up is a 5-day camp July 27-31. Players will do drills in groups of five, and we'll avoid marking and scrimmages. In addition, each day will feature activities like disc golf, relay races, conversations about social justice and current events, social/emotional learning, how to be a good teammate, and more.

August 2nd update:

We’ve all been waiting (and waiting) to see how Covid 19 is going to impact our Summer Camps this year. We appreciate your patience with this changing situation. After countless hours of research and consultation with Camp Casey and the Governor's Office, it's been determined that we cannot run our overnight youth camps on Whidbey Island as the requirement for covid-friendly sleeping quarters cannot be met.

We are cancelling the overnight camps, and replacing them with Day Camps at Montlake Playfield in Seattle, WA. These will be similar to the Day Camps we recently held at Jefferson Playfield, but with some cool new activities.

August 16th update:

After three successful day camps we’re really hitting our stride! The kids love it, the parents love it, and we continue to follow our COVID Safety Plan diligently. While we’ve had zero occurrences of COVID-19 thus far, we will continue to follow policies carefully: distancing, masks, sanitizing discs between drills, etc.

This upcoming week will be our final Summer camp and we’re excited to run back some of our program and bring in some cool new features.