NWPC COVID-19 Return to Water Polo Guidelines

Our guiding principle has been centered around the safety and welfare of the membership we serve and the health of our community as a whole. Our focus being on ensuring safety and wellness, cultivating connections and relationships, centering on equity and innovation. Using both the Yamhill County Public Health and CPRD guidelines, we have created the following plan for re-entry into in person pool practices at CPRD’s competition pool.

UPDATE: OHA Statewide Mask, Face Shield, Face Covering Requirement
What does that mean for our competitive aquatic sports teams ….

1. Parents, coaches and athletes shall wear masks during face-to-face health screening and contact tracing
2. Lifeguard/Coaches and athletes shall wear masks when entering and exiting the building
3. It is recommended that Lifeguard/Coaches, while in the facility, wear masks for the duration of the practice period

Reminders for athletes-

1.  Wear a mask when entering and exiting the pool and during times when they are in the building but not exercising
2. Athletes need to arrive in their suits, and leave in their suits
3.  Do  not come to practice if feeling ill or registering a fever
4.  Do not come to practice if you have been exposed (have had close contact)  to a known COVID-19 positive person
5.  Wash hands, sanitize hands, wash hands, sanitize hands... make this a hygiene habit. 
6.  Dispose of any used tissues 
7.  Cover coughs and sneezes

Social Distancing and Monitoring:

1. Maintain a physical distance (6 feet) between athletes and between coaches and athletes. 
2. Design water polo drills to limit or eliminate passing drills and to promote physical distancing.
3. Conditioning only and social distanced drills only.
4.  No scrimmages.
5. One athlete per lane (for laps), or maintaining 6 feet separation if conditioning using widths of the pool.
6. Athletes will not have access to the changing rooms other than to use the toilet.
7. Athletes need to arrive in their suits and leave in their suits.
8. Athletes will not have use of the cubbies, but instead bags and personal items will be stowed in a specific area of the bleachers.
9. All personal items will be stored in a bag/backpack/duffle.
10. No outdoor shoes on deck.
11. Drinking fountains are closed and athletes are encouraged to bring their own filled personal water bottles to practice.
12. Showers on deck will be limited to social distancing and 2 of the 4 showers will be open.
13. No spectators. Parents/guardians are asked not to enter the aquatic facility during practices.  
14. If a parent/guardian needs to speak with the coaching staff or their athlete, we ask that they meet outside the pool, wear a cloth face covering and maintain 6 feet physical distance between other athletes and coaches.
15. The coaching staff has the authority to excuse any athlete that is not following these restrictions and will be asked to leave the facility. 

One-way Traffic Flow Patterns:

1. Upon arrival to the pool, athletes should enter through the North East doors of competition pool (via vestibule) like usual, after the previous club/activity has exited the building (via the exit through northwest doors on opposite end of competition pool).
2. There will be 15 minutes of passing time between user groups (swim team, polo, lap swim, etc.).

Sanitation (including equipment and supplies provided):

1. Each athlete is to have their own equipment (preferred).
2. There will be no use of team water polo caps until scrimmaging and/or physical distancing restrictions are lifted.
3. Any other equipment provided by the club or pool after use will go through the proper sanitation guidelines set by CPRD and the Yamhill County Public Health Department.
4. If at all possible, designate equipment (e.g., balls, cages, etc.) solely for the use by a single cohort and sanitize between practices or uses. If equipment must be shared between cohorts, it must be sanitized before and after each use by a stable cohort.

Emergency Protocols:

1. Minimum two coaches on deck at any given time (one must carry a walkie talkie for quick communication to management/receptionist).
2. Coaches must be lifeguard certified and have their credentials on file with CPRD management.
3. After hours practices must have a designated third person to assist in case of an emergency.

Health Screening and Contact Tracing:

1. All athletes will be screened upon entry by a coach or club volunteer who shall be wearing a mask, gloves and using a thermometer with alcohol and hand sanitizer to reduce risk of spreading infection.
2. The check-in process will include a checklist of symptoms for each athlete. The checklist will include, but not limited to, the athlete’s temperature, cough, shortness of breath, close contact with anyone with COVID-19, last time traveling out of state.
3. Any athlete exhibiting signs or symptoms, or has a fever greater than 100.3 degrees will not be allowed to participate in that day’s activity. Those athletes will also be advised to self-isolate and to contact their primary care provider.  (We will not be recording the actual temperature, but rather assessing if a fever is present or not due to HIPAA (health privacy issues). 
4. There will be a return to practice protocol in place for any athlete or coach who exhibits signs or symptoms of infection in line with the CPRD guidelines.
5. Restrict from practices any athlete or staff known to have been exposed (e.g., by a household member) to COVID-19 within the preceding 14 days.
6. Communicate advice to staff not to work, and guidance to parents not to bring their athlete to practice, if they or anyone in their household have recently had an illness with fever or a new cough. They should remain home for at least 10 days after illness onset and until 72 hours after fever is gone, without use of fever reducing medicine, and COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath, and diarrhea) are improving.
7. Staff or athletes who have a cough that is not a new onset cough (e.g. asthma, allergies, etc.), do not need to be excluded from practices. The club may consider collecting information about existing conditions that cause coughing on intake forms.
8. If an athlete or staff member develops a new cough (e.g., unrelated to preexisting condition such as asthma), fever, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19 during the practice session, isolate them away from others immediately, and send them home as soon as possible. While waiting for a sick child to be picked up, a staff member should stay with the child in a room isolated from others. The caregiver should remain as far away as safely possible from the child (preferably at least 6 feet), while remaining in the same room.
9. The affected individual should remain home for at least 10 days after illness onset and until 72 hours after fever is gone, without use of fever reducing medicine, and COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath, and diarrhea) are improving.
10. Ensure that the club has flexible sick-leave and absentee policies that discourage staff from reporting to work while sick.
11. If anyone who has entered practice is diagnosed with COVID-19, report to and consult with the Local Public Health Authority regarding cleaning and possible program closure.

***The above guidelines are subject to change based on future and ongoing decisions made by Yamhill County health officials, pool management and NWPC.