NOTICE: These requirements are subject to ongoing review and revision by the Board of Directors. The COVID-19 Safety Protocol was developed based on guidelines from Little League, the Arizona Interscholastic Association, USSSA, Scottsdale Unified School District and Maricopa County Department of Public Health.

Arcadia Little League (ARLL) is planning for the Spring 2021 season. Our goal is to have a complete season with evaluations for minors and majors players in January/February, practices beginning in February, games beginning in March, playoffs in May, and All-Stars beginning in June. To achieve our goal, ARLL has developed this COVID-19 Safety Protocol to provide our league with the safest possible playing conditions.

It is very important that all in attendance follow these protocols established by ARLL as well as all relevant municipal, county and state guidelines. Everyone is responsible for their immediate space. Face coverings (covering mouth and nose) for coaches, players, umpires, parents and spectators must be used as described herein. Plastic face shields are not permitted.                

Self-Monitoring

• All players shall have their body temperature taken prior to ARLL events (e.g., evaluations, practices, games) to ensure that no fever is present when participating or attending each Little League activity.
• Families shall immediately report symptoms of, exposure to, or a positive test for COVID-19 to the league safety officer ([email protected]) and president ([email protected]).
• In the event of symptoms of, exposure to or a positive test for COVID-19, Arcadia Little League will follow the quarantine and isolation protocols of SUSD, available for review here: https://www.susd.org/Page/4746. Any player who is or would be excluded from in-person school attendance shall also be excluded from Little League participation. 
• Any individual, including players, at risk for severe illness or with serious underlying medical or respiratory conditions should seek the advice of their personal physician before attending Little League activities.

No Handshakes/Personal Contact Celebrations

• Players and coaches shall take measures to prevent all but the essential contact necessary to play baseball. This includes refraining from handshakes, high fives, fist bumps, chest bumps, group celebrations. Players and families shall vacate the field/facility as soon as is reasonably possible after the conclusion of their practice or game to minimize unnecessary contact among players, coaches, and spectators, ideally within 10 minutes.
• Athletes, managers/coaches, and umpires shall 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 practice/game for cleaning and sanitation or use single-use bottles. There shall be no use of shared or team beverages. Teams shall not share any snacks or food. Players should bring individual, pre-packaged food, if needed.

Spitting, Sunflower Seeds, Gum, etc.

• Sunflower seeds, gum, etc., will not be allowed in dugouts or on the playing field. All players and coaches are to refrain from spitting at all times, including in dugout areas and on the playing field.

Attendance

• Attendance shall be taken at all practices to enable contact tracing should a player or coach test COVID-19 positive.

Practice Protocols

• Players shall use hand sanitizer prior to entering the ball field for practice, before each defensive half-inning, and before every plate appearance
• To the extent possible, ARLL will offset start and end times for each session to limit interactions between players, coaches and parents from different teams.

• Face Mask Requirements:

• All coaches are required to wear face coverings (face mask covering mouth and nose) except during socially distanced water breaks.
• All players are required to wear face coverings (face mask covering mouth and nose) except during socially distanced water breaks and as specified below in “Game Protocols”.

• A maximum of 13 players and 4 coaches are allowed on the field at a time.
• During practices, players shall not place their sporting equipment (baseball bags, bats, etc.) in the dugouts. Players will place their sporting equipment along the outfield fences in foul territory on one side of the field only (1B/RF or 3B/LF). No player shall put his or her equipment closer than six feet to another’s. If one team has not vacated the field when the next team arrives, the arriving team shall enter the field opposite the departing team and place their equipment on that side.
• Players shall take water breaks by their equipment to maintain social distance.
• Players will not share equipment with other players or coaches, with the exception of baseballs, softballs, instructional devices, bats and catcher’s equipment. IMPORTANT NOTE: Catchers who are sharing equipment shall remove the helmet-mask immediately upon concluding a defensive half-inning and the CATCHER’S HELMET MUST BE FULLY DISINFECTED WITH SPRAY DISINFECTANT before the end of the offensive half-inning, regardless of whether a substitution is being made. Shared bats shall be disinfected with disinfectant spray or wipes after each use.
• Coaches shall remind players to maintain social distance during baseball drills and shall not employ drills that do not permit appropriate distancing.
• Players shall use hand sanitizer upon leaving the ball field.
• Huddles are strictly prohibited.
• Spectators are not permitted at practices.

Game Protocols

• Face Coverings

• Masks are REQUIRED to be worn by ALL INDIVIDUALS including coaches, spectators, players, umpires, and tournament staff when entering any ARLL activity site, while on the site, and when exiting the site. Players may remove their masks ONLY while playing a defensive position, batting or running the bases.  

• Social Distance Whenever Possible

• Handshakes, fist bumps, and chest bumps are prohibited.
• Players and coaches shall maintain a minimum distancing of 6 feet at all times, with the following exceptions: (1) when proximity occurs during the course of an active play (examples: batter, catcher and umpire; baserunner and defender in the baseline or on the bag as a result of the play) (2) when a coach is privately conferring with a player, such as in a mound conference or when a batter does not understand the signal.
• To maintain six feet of distance during offensive half-innings, some players may sit in the bleachers as necessary.
• After a home run, players must remain in the dugout .
• Plate meeting: One coach only per team is permitted; coaches and umpires shall maintain a distance of six feet (except to exchange the lineup card, then immediately step back). Handshakes between coaches, or between coaches and umpires are not permitted. 
• In any discussions between a coach and an umpire, both must wear a face covering and maintain a distance of 6 feet.
• Disinfecting Common Surfaces: At the conclusion of a game it is each team’s responsibility to sanitize their dugout by wiping or spraying benches, gate handles and any other touch points.

• Pitchers are not allowed to lick their fingers at any time during the game. First time is a warning, thereafter a ball shall automatically be awarded to the batter.
• Parents/spectators 

• Spectators are limited to two adult family members, plus supervised siblings per player. ALL requests that siblings not attend games whenever possible. Children shall observe the mask and social distance guidelines that apply to all spectators. Arcadia Little League retains the right to exclude any non-player children at any time and without notice.  
• Spectators must bring their own drinks and food and shall not share with anyone outside of their immediate family. 
• All parents/spectators are to sit in areas beyond each field’s outfield fence specifically designated for spectators. Spectators shall maintain six feet of distance between adults and children not from the same household
• Face masks are required for all spectators at practice and game sites.
• If you feel sick, please stay home. 
• Additional personnel
• In Majors and Minors divisions teams are required to provide an official scorekeeper and, in baseball divisions, a pitch counter. These adult volunteers may but are not required to sit in the bleachers near the infield. 

Team Operations

• Each team manager shall appoint a registered adult volunteer as the team’s Health and Safety Coordinator who will attend or send a substitute to every team event. The H&S Coordinator’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Supervising frequent hand sanitizing
• Supervising masking and social-distancing in dugouts
• Breaking up tight clusters of children
• Reminding players of proper masking
• Sanitizing shared equipment
• Supervising sanitization of dugouts after each game or practice

• In Majors and Minors divisions, each team manager is encouraged to appoint a scorekeeper. The scorekeeper will be permitted to sit near home plate and is responsible for scoring the game activity using GameChanger or a similar app. This is intended as a courtesy to family members who cannot attend in person due to spectator limitations. The scorekeeper may be accompanied by one other individual. Arcadia Little League encourages the “plus one” to serve as the official scorekeeper (i.e., to log the game in the official record book) or as the official pitch counter (baseball only).

• All jersey numbers must be printed with large numbers in a high contrast color. This is intended to make all players easily identifiable to their loved ones watching from beyond the outfield fence.
• Teams are encouraged to adopt procedures to minimize dugout traffic. For example, players may use an individual bin to store their game equipment (caps, gloves, helmets, batting gloves) and always sit above their bin. Equipment bags should be stored outside the dugout.