Sisolak loosens restrictions on youth, recreational sports

Gov. Steve Sisolak on Friday announced that he will be issuing an Emergency Directive lifting restrictions on youth and adult sports and adjusting the COVID-19 statewide guidance on sports.

The new directive and accompanying guidance will allow for practice, training and competitions for noncontact and minimal-contact sports statewide for both youth and adult sports.

Sports leagues must first submit a Preparedness &Safety Plan and comply with all health and safety protocols outlined in the guidance, including strict adherence to social distancing, sanitization and capacity limitations on spectators at sporting events.

“As I have said before, sports are paramount to the mental and physical health, growth and development of leadership skills among our youth,” Sisolak said. “We are enacting these new standards so that those who enjoy competing can begin safely returning to play.”

The directive does not pertain to professional or collegiate sports, and it retains the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association’s existing authority over when high school sports will resume and the guidelines under which those competitions will resume. Not all sports will be allowed at this time – only minimal-contact and noncontact sports as defined in the directive may commence.

The sports allowed have been categorized based on contact level and associated risk. Full-contact sports are prohibited at this time. These sports may only take place on a limited basis for athletic conditioning, drills, practices in which dummy players, sleds, punching bags and similar equipment is used, but athletes may not come in contact with other players.

Training and conditioning, such as weightlifting, running drills and intrasquad scrimmaging, cannot include full contact of any kind.

Minimal-contact sports include baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, flag football, multiperson rowing, fencing and kickball. Noncontact sports include golf, tennis, cycling, cross country, track and field, no-contact cheer and dance, archery, shooting, swimming and diving, individual rowing, equestrian jumping or dressage, weight lifting, skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, badminton, disc golf, bowling, individual figure skating and gymnastics.

The NIAA issued a statement upon receiving word of the governor’s directive.

“With all due respect, the NIAA office staff, Board of Control members and school district superintendents do not intend to react or comment further at this time on the governor’s news conference,” the NIAA stated. “It is imperative that members of the NIAA’s various leadership groups have time to analyze, evaluate and discuss this directive — within each group and/or as a collective whole — before issuing any statement(s) of direction going forward.”

The statement pointed out that the NIAA is not like other sports organizations that might be back on the playing field or preparing to return.

Unlike professional sports leagues, “our participants will not be held to reside in a bio-secure bubble” or some form of controlled environment which keeps them away from family, friends and community members.

Unlike college conferences, “the NIAA’s schools and districts do not have the financial availability to afford multitime rapid testing each week, let alone on game days. … We will treat all sports equally in a traditional season-by-season structure.”

And unlike recreational or club groups, in the NIAA, “membership has to be concerned with challenging mandates related to the successful delivery of classroom instruction, school-day and event-specific transportation plans and countless other initiatives surrounding the care of students.

Stating the greatest challenge that it faces is getting students in school, the NIAA said it has not made any significant changes to the modified sports schedule it released in July and updated Sept. 30. For winter sports, practice will begin Jan. 2 with the season running Jan. 14-Feb. 20. For fall sports, practice will begin Feb. 20 (Feb. 13 for football) with the season running March 4-April 10. For spring sports, practice will begin April 3 with the season running April 15-May 22.