Texas2Cali
SILVER
I wanted to create a place where people can post positive thoughts and ideas for concrete actions that those interested in opening up youth soccer can take to put pressure on the powers that be. NYC seemed to have success organizing and arguing effectively to the mayor; why shouldn't we be able to do the same?
Action #1 -- write the governor. https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/
I am writing to you to express my concern about the lack of clarity and timeline for reopening youth sports, particularly youth soccer, throughout California. As a parent of a teenager, I am seeing first hand the negative consequences of kids not being able play the sports that they love. While my kid is missing her friends, exercise and the outlet that her sport provides, I have read that teenage suicides are on the rise due to the separation and isolation caused by Covid-19.
Based on science and the experience of other states (AZ, Utah, Texas, etc.) that have opened up youth soccer seemingly without negative health consequences, I see no reason as to why we can’t open youth soccer safely in California. In summary:
Based on the above, don’t understand why we can’t move more quickly to open up youth soccer. I understand that the few kids that might possibly contract Covid-19 during youth soccer might bring the virus into their homes where vulnerable family members reside, but this can be managed individually by those families, by either isolating the more susceptible family members or by making individual decisions not to attend games that potentially have risk, not matter how small.
We can open up youth soccer safely in CA. We can:
Action #1 -- write the governor. https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/
I am writing to you to express my concern about the lack of clarity and timeline for reopening youth sports, particularly youth soccer, throughout California. As a parent of a teenager, I am seeing first hand the negative consequences of kids not being able play the sports that they love. While my kid is missing her friends, exercise and the outlet that her sport provides, I have read that teenage suicides are on the rise due to the separation and isolation caused by Covid-19.
Based on science and the experience of other states (AZ, Utah, Texas, etc.) that have opened up youth soccer seemingly without negative health consequences, I see no reason as to why we can’t open youth soccer safely in California. In summary:
- Covid-19 has not caused significant deaths for individuals aged 0-24. According to the CDC as of August 29, 2020, 360 individuals in this age group have died as a result of Covid-19. https://data.cdc.gov/widgets/9bhg-hcku
- Outdoor transmission of Covid-19 is relatively rare. For example, one study in China of 7000 individuals documented only 1 case of Covid-19 transmitted while outdoors. From the NY Times: “While the risk of outdoor transmission is low, it can happen. In one study of more than 7,300 cases in China, just one was connected to outdoor transmission. In that case, a 27-year-old man had a conversation outdoors with a traveler who had just returned from Wuhan. Seven days later, he had his first symptoms of Covid-19.” I also highly recommend reading this article from Vox Media: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/...rus-runners-cyclists-airborne-infectious-dose Here is a link to the study itself: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053058v1.full.pdf
- Soccer as a sport is a relatively low risk activity. Again, this is based several studies:
- There is significant data showing that soccer is low-risk in terms of both proximity and contact. A recent study conducted by experts at Aarhus University and the University of Southern Denmark determined youth and adolescent soccer players are within a distance of 1.5 meters of each other for only 60 seconds per hour during games. And in a majority of those cases, the proximity lasts for less than one second.[1] Close contact requiring tracing as defined by the CDC is anyone who had sustained close contact—being within 6 feet of an infected individual for at least 15 minutes. https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.26.20080614v1.full.pdf
- Another study done in light of the pandemic analyzed nearly 500 Dutch matches and found that in only 0.2% of them were two players within a single meter for more than 30 seconds. 50-80% of these extremely limited events were players convening during referee reviews, celebrating a goal or other game interruptions—all of which can be eliminated. The vast majority of the game provided a socially distanced arrangement of the players on the field. The report also concluded that in 98.2% of the matches, there was minimal to no risk for players to transmit the virus to one another. https://www.consultancy.eu/news/4388/only-minor-risk-of-COVID-19-transmission-in-football-match
We can open up youth soccer safely in CA. We can:
- Conduct temperature checks and Covid screening for all participants including coaches, players, refs and spectators.
- Limit the number of adults and family members on the sideline to 1 per family, and ensure that those fans remain socially distant.
- Modify the game to eliminate the primary situations in which close contact occurs (corner kicks, other free kicks involving walls, goal celebrations, etc.). Massachusetts is already doing this.
- Isolate individuals that show symptoms or who are exposed to Covid-19 either during youth soccer play or from other situations.
