Game On!
Fall 2020 Update 9/20/2020
Topic: NMSA Fall 2020 Scheduling Meeting
Time: Sep 20, 2020 6:45PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/77874161053?pwd=SHFpMWN2aHJFY1p2MHRzSzNYdzB0dz09
Meeting ID: 778 7416 1053
Passcode: 0Wk4Ed
We will all be in the same meeting for the first 5-10 minutes for a quick Q and A session. You will then go into breakout rooms by age group. Please make sure you have read these documents before the meeting:
MSYSA Update from 9/16 - https://myemail.constantcontact.com/MSYSA-RTP-UPDATE-9-16-20.html?soid=1126670487603&aid=GLSJBZVM8TI
MSYSA Game Day Processes - https://www.michiganyouthsoccer.org/AssetFactory.aspx?did=6063
MSYSA RTP Phases - https://www.michiganyouthsoccer.org/AssetFactory.aspx?did=6050
Points of emphasis from the MSYSA
All players must wear an appropriate face covering over their nose and mouth at all times. This is the result of Executive Order 180. The MSYSA acknowledges that in the run of play the face covering may slip, but players must make an attempt to pull it back up whenever it slips. Players are allowed to take quick mask breaks when the ball is out of play and they are physically distanced or momentarily when they come out of the game and are physically distanced. Playing with gaiters around the neck or masks pulled under their chin is not acceptable. The referee has no authority to enforce this rule since it is an EO and not a law of the game. This will be very confusing to parents. Please educate them. It is up to the host club and coaches to make sure their players are properly wearing face coverings at all times. It becomes a major competitive disadvantage if one team is abiding by the EO and the other team is not.
"MSYSA has received reports of the following: athletes intentionally not placing the facial coverings over their mouth and nose, players immediately pulling their facial coverings down, placing the facial coverings under their chins, hanging the facial coverings from their ears, around their necks or up on their foreheads, etc. If MSYSA continues to receive these reports, a statewide stoppage is likely."
The MSYSA has been inundated with complaints on this. Their response to the criticism is first, you are yelling at the wrong group since they didn't make the EO, and second, if you don't want your child to experience this inconvenience so they can play this fall just hold them out until the spring or whenever the EO expires.
Per the Return to Play guidelines for outdoor sports competitions athletes are limited to designating up to 2 guests each or not to exceed 100 people, including all athletes, coaches, staff, etc.
Clubs must restrict venue capacity to meet the current EO standards for outdoor gatherings. Currently that would be EO 176 which limits the number of people at a sporting stadium or venue to 25% of max capacity or 500, whichever is smaller. More info on that here:
https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-100467_100913---,00.html.
The MSYSA has cancelled all tournaments until the spring of 2021 at the earliest as a result of this. Please be mindful of this when scheduling out multiple fields at your venue. Here is a sample field reservation sheet your club may want to use for tomorrow night. Feel free to make a copy and modify for your clubs specs:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/107KkC80k4MysHakjP-TN1_bwDtu9OuztpkvAVBoW5s8/edit?usp=sharing
The MSYSA also emphasized that each family will have a different comfort level and to be respectful of that. Some families are totally fired up, and others are still a bit reluctant to throw their kids back into full contact games. Finally, they also emphasized that we are all in this together and that each club must do their absolute best to follow these guidelines to prevent any COVID transmissions which would lead to a shutdown. The more responsible the soccer community is the quicker soccer will get back to normal (hopefully by the spring).
Fall 2020 Update
On the evening of September 9, 2020, the MSYSA moved the entire state into phase 5.0 on their Return to Play guidelines:
Press Release - https://myemail.constantcontact.com/MSYSA-RTP-9-9-20.html?soid=1126670487603&aid=nslkSDEkFq0
Return to Play Guidelines - https://www.michiganyouthsoccer.org/AssetFactory.aspx?did=6050
This means that "Small-sided, intra-team scrimmages & set-play activities are permitted. Except for these activities, social distancing should still be observed." The catch is that all players and coaches must now have a facial covering at all times. This was also recently added for high school soccer.
The players on the field have adapted very quickly and we wouldn't let this mandate discourage you from participating this fall. More information can be found here:
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/MSYSA-RTP-9-10-20.html?soid=1126670487603&aid=Elnk1Q4pir8
To play games the MSYSA needs to move us to phase 5.5. They are hoping to do this soon and the earliest games could start is September 19. There is no guarantee on this date though. We are recommending we wait to start games (if allowed) on the weekend of September 26/27 and plan on a four or five week season.
If you are interested in playing games this fall please carefully read the MSYSA Game Day Protocols at this link:
https://www.michiganyouthsoccer.org/AssetFactory.aspx?did=6063
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