Shenandoah County Soccer League

Facebook

News Detail

19

Mar, 2020

VYSA Update on COVID-19

Link to statement on VYSA website

Dear Members: We hope this message finds all of you and your families, staffs, and club members doing well as we all try to adjust to the new normal of social distancing and restricted in-person activities.

A week ago, we wrote to inform you that certain state-level soccer and coaching education activities were being postponed. We stressed that the health and safety of our community is our number one priority and encouraged our leagues and clubs to make decisions concerning the continuation of programming while closely monitoring recommendations from local health authorities, the Virginia Dept. of Health, and the CDC.

Since that time, we have seen unprecedented actions taken by the President, the Virginia Governor, and many of our local communities. We have seen every reputable public health organization in the world, including the Virginia Department of Health, CDC, NIH, and WHO, strongly recommend to everyone that they should avoid person-to-person contact to the greatest extent possible. The State of Virginia has even taken the step of prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people.

Most of us across the state have heeded the warnings of our governmental leaders and public health authorities. We understand that social distancing is a responsibility that we all share, and that we can defeat this virus only if everyone does their part. Indeed, we are not aware of a single recreational club or travel league across the state that has not stepped up to postpone their Spring activities.We will support those clubs and leagues for making those difficult decisions and we applaud them for it. At the same time, most of us have seen examples in the media and elsewhere of certain social groups that have decided not to postpone activities.

Along those lines, many of our members have contacted the VYSA office to seek specific guidance as to what public health organizations are recommending about soccer-related activities, in particular, and whether any recommendations have been made as to activities such as team practices/training. Our answer is simple: the guidance to engage in social distancing and to avoid person-to-person contact to the greatest extent possible applies to all activities operated by VYSA member organizations. Accordingly, VYSA is strongly recommending to our member organizations that they suspend, at least through April 12, 2020, all activities that would create such in-person engagements. This would obviously include league and tournament matches and scrimmages, but also team practices/training, tryouts, and in-person group meetings. VYSA itself has moved its meetings online using videoconferencing and teleconferencing technology, and advises clubs and teams to consider holding any such meetings via Zoom, Skype, FreeConference.com, and/or Google Hangouts.

VYSA takes seriously its commitment to continuing to serve as a resource for our membership through these challenging times. Although we have now closed the state office building, the State Office itself remains fully operational with all staff now working remotely from home.We are eager to assist you in answering any questions you may have, including providing assistance in locating appropriate videoconferencing and teleconferencing solutions.We will continue to monitor the recommendations from government and public health agencies and will continue to keep you informed of changes as events warrant.

VYSA Board of Directors

Site Links