Youth contact sports in the city of Greenfield are going to have to wait a while longer before players will be able to play ball.
By a 3-0 margin, the Greenfield Board of Health voted on Thursday that contact sports in the city were not ready to begin play in Phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan, citing safety concerns for the youths involved.
“We reviewed the state’s guidelines as a board and really felt it was not going to be practical, feasible and safe to allow contact sports of any kind to happen, at least in Phase 2,” Greenfield Board of Health Chair Kelly Dixon said.
While some leagues, like Greenfield Minor League Baseball, had planned to begin skills and drills practice next week, that option is now likely off the table until at least July. The board is set to meet again on July 2 to address the situation, prior to a potential Phase 3 reopening.
“It’s unfortunate but the regulations are pretty straight-forward,” Board member Jennifer Hoffman began. “You can’t share equipment. They said tennis is OK and some racquet sports where you aren’t really handling the ball, but the regulations are so strict. You can’t touch anything that anyone else touches and it just didn’t seem possible (for contact sports).”
According to the state from Governor Baker’s COVID-19 Order No. 37 from June 6, “Organizers of youth and adult sports programs shall follow the EEA guidance; provided, however, that when the program is governed by formal league rules or other binding agreements or affiliations, the organizer shall comply with any COVID-19 and other health and safety rules applicable under those authorities.
“Contact sports (e.g., basketball, football, baseball, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, hockey and other sports where ordinary play puts players in direct contact or close proximity) must limit activities exclusively to no-contact drills and practices.”
Dixon said the board didn’t feel as though contact sports, including those involving a ball like baseball and softball, could adhere to no-contact measures.
“All of the contact sports really require some sort of ball and equipment that’s going to be passed along,” Dixon said. “That’s where the challenge lies. We decided we needed some extra time to meet and evaluate. At this time, anything contact sports-wise, we really didn’t feel could be done safely. Talking about baseball and softball specifically, we didn’t really want them throwing balls to each other.”
While GML said it planned to follow guidelines provided by the state in terms of not sharing equipment, providing sanitizer and keeping players socially distanced, Hoffman said that baseballs being shared between players presents problematic situations. GML scheduled an emergency board meeting for Thursday night to discuss further options.
“It doesn’t take much to spread,” she began. “So yes, it’s being really over the top, being protective, but we have to, especially around kids. We really have an obligation to prevent community spread. Short-term measures will hopefully lead to long-term successes.”
While some leagues have asked about wearing surgical gloves or sterilizing the baseball before and after each play, Hoffman said the example she used during Thursday’s meeting involved players touching the ball directly to their faces.
“OK, what happens when a kid’s nose is runny, and he touches the ball to it, then throws it and another kid catches it and puts his finger in his nose,” she began. “We’re trying to be fair. I have children, a lot of people making these decisions have children of their own. We understand the hardship of not having recreational camps and sports. It’s heartbreaking for the children, but we also have to do the right thing and make sure everyone is safe in the community.”
The Board of Health has been meeting regularly throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Dixon said Thursday’s decision was in the interest of public health.
“Our goal as a board is to keep public health safe in whatever capacity we can,” she offered.