Fall sports COVID-19 rules released for Flathead County

The Flathead City-County Health Department and Flathead County’s high school activity directors have written guidelines for athletic events this fall, adding clarity to a confusing time amid COVID-19.

Flathead High School AD Bryce Wilson sent the 4-page list of guidelines and procedures to the Daily Inter Lake Tuesday.

They include a limit of two home team spectators per participant in uniform at any event for football, volleyball and soccer – whether high school or middle school.

Visiting fans will not be allowed except when the home team is hosting a Flathead County rival, such as Columbia Falls or Whitefish; that school would also be allowed two tickets per athlete.

All fans must wear a mask and maintain a six-foot distance, with the exceptions of family or household members. All event workers must wear a mask and maintain a social distance.

Also concerning games, each sideline is limited to 60 participants for football, while all other sports are limited to team and essential personnel only; cheerleaders are allowed as long as they are socially distanced; and there will be no marching bands at contests.

The spectator rules contrast with those in Yellowstone County, which announced Tuesday that no fans can attend games until further notice. Three AA schools sit in Billings, and Yellowstone is also home to two Class A and two Class B schools.

Its list of guidelines includes that all athletes and coaches have their own water bottle for all practices and vents, and that no water bottles be shared.

There are several procedures for travel, including a mandate that all riders be pre-screened, that there be assigned seats with a seating chart and that buses be sanitized after every trip. Quick onloading and exiting of the bus is expected and pick-up areas outside of schools will be monitored to encourage social distancing.

Flathead County schools have suspended all overnight trips until further notice, with the exception of postseason play; also there will be no concessions at events until further notice.

All participants will be screened prior to games, contests or performances. A line list should be created each game consisting of the players, coaches, trainers, referees, etc. to be expected at an event. Teams should not rely on just a roster alone due to potential absences of players and staff.

All of this helps with the important task of contact tracing in the event of a confirmed COVID-19 case. Close contacts are defined as any individual who was withing six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes starting two days before the onset of illness.

There are additional practices for facilities and equipment, locker rooms and training rooms. Athletes will be encouraged to shower at home; masks are to be worn at all times by trainers, coaches and athletes inside buildings.

“The aim of this plan is to mitigate and manage the range of risks associated with school sports and activities, while acknowledging that there will likely be cases of COVID-19 associated with these activities,” the release reads. “Some schools may have policies that are more restrictive than these guidelines.”

Wilson said the entire release will be posted to Flathead County schools’ website – sd5.k12.mt.us - Wednesday.