As some states and communities return to youth sports during the COVID-19 pandemic, many parents are trying to navigate this new experience on their own. Project Play is here to help. While some questions are best answered by public health experts based on local conditions, there are guidelines and best practices that are very useful. We will periodically answer youth sports parents’ questions in this Project Play Parent Mailbag. Got a question? Submit it in the space on the right side of this page or email jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org.
I'm concerned about our football field having synthetic material. If COVID-19 can survive days on plastic surfaces, will the players be adversely affected by days on a playing field with potentially accumulated COVID-19 germs?
Drew Groome
The coronavirus is thought to spread mainly from person to person more so than through objects and surfaces. Current evidence suggest that COVID-19 may remain viable for hours to days on surfaces made from a variety of materials, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Cleaning visible dirty surfaces followed by disinfection is considered a best practice for prevention.
So, what does this mean for synthetic turf surfaces, such as AstroTurf or FieldTurf, that have become increasingly popular in sports like football, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey? There is no conclusive evidence of the length of time COVID-19 can survive on athletic field surfaces or its transmission. There are some best practices. The SportsTurf Managers Association advises that if a field has not been used for several weeks and is outdoors, treatment likely is not required since the virus will not live that long on a surface and sunlight may inhibit or destroy it. Artificial turf fields get especially hot in the summer.
“To allay public fears, you may be pressured into taking action to disinfect your fields,” the association says. “Know that any treatment that we are aware of will at best only kill the virus that’s there and will not prevent future (action).”
The SportsTurf Managers Association recommends this approved list of disinfectants released by the Environmental Protection Agency. “Before treating a synthetic surface, check with the synthetic manufacturer,” the association says. “People should be cautious with what they use to disinfect synthetic turf. Some of the disinfectants can break down the glue that holds the fibers to the backing and may void their warranty.”
Research conducted by Penn State University investigated the presence and survival of the bacterium known as MRSA, which is responsible for staph infections. Important to note: While MRSA is contagious, it generally doesn’t cause the same widespread outbreaks as the coronavirus does.
The study found that most of the indoor natural and synthetic surfaces that had MRSA showed a less than 4% survival rate after 240 hours. Most treatments listed with detergent applications resulted in no living staph bacteria after four hours. On outdoor synthetic surfaces, the study should the number of bacteria surviving was below 1% for most treatments and by 72 hours after inoculation. The research suggested that relatively short exposure to sunlight inhibited or destroyed MRSA.
My daughter is on a gymnastics team in New York City. What do we need to see our gym doing in terms of safety measures in order to be safe to return to practice? Does length of the workout matter?
Roberta Newman-Hernandez
USA Gymnastics created a considerations document for member clubs when reopening. One key suggestion: Reopen the club in phases with smaller participation sizes. Clubs should put in writing its policies explaining to parents how the club will achieve physical distancing, incorporate cleaning protocol, and teach and coach while maintaining physical distancing.
One example of what reopening could look like is Golden State Gymnastics in Burbank, California. The gym was set to be open now but has delayed reopening until next week. It will not allow more than 24 kids in the gym (12 gymnasts on each side of the gym). Kids will not be allowed to intermingle with another group. Only gymnasts can come into the gym, not parents. Temperatures are being checked at the door – the gym’s only entrance – and kids will be instructed to wash hands upon arrival.
All staff members at the gym will wear face coverings and gloves throughout trainings. Activities will be modified to accommodate physical distancing. Staff will disinfect program areas and surfaces routinely throughout the day. The gym has also created a welcome back video and parent portal for parents to read through protocols and agree on updated policies.
A new study in Norway found that people who went to a gym were no more likely to get infected or sick than people who didn’t. Norway has reopened its gyms based on the tentative results, which still need to go through peer review. Some epidemiologists caution that it’s possible no one was infected at the Oslo gyms in the study because there were very few cases in the city when the study was done.
Keep in mind, gyms are not allowed to reopen yet in New York City, where this reader lives. Keep following your local and state requirements.
Which high school sports are the highest risk for transferring the virus? And which sports pose the lowest risk?
Amy Rice
Generally speaking, football, wrestling, boxing, judo, karate, taekwondo and rugby are considered the highest-risk sports to bring back since they involve the most direct, regular contact among competitors. Moderate-risk sports include basketball, volleyball, baseball, soccer, gymnastics, hockey and tennis, according to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s return to train guidelines. Low-risk sports include golf, skateboarding, skiing and snowboarding. Indoor sports have higher risk because the virus is to be believed to be transmitted more indoors.
The Aspen Institute’s Return to Play risk assessment tool offers guidance on high, medium and low risk within more than 25 sports and activities. As always, follow local public health guidance on when to return based on transmission within your community.
We will periodically answer youth sports parents’ questions in this Project Play Parent Mailbag. Got a question? Submit it in the form in this page’s sidebar or email jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org.
