COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS

Cautions and Preventative Measures
ASAA Volleyball Provincials
November 25-27, 2021

The ASAA Volleyball Provincial Championships for November 25-27, 2021 will proceed with the following cautions and preventative measures in place in order to reduce the risk of attendees contracting a communicable disease including, but not limited to, COVID-19 and its variants.

Cautions and Preventative Measure Rationale
Follow Government directives: Adherence to all Government of Alberta (GoA) and Alberta Health Services (AHS) direction and measures. This is a legal requirement
Mandatory Acknowledgement Form submission: A form acknowledging the risk of attending/participating in the ASAA Provincials form MUST be signed by the parent/guardian of every student and every coach/volunteer. Any student, coach or volunteer who appears without a signed form will not be permitted to participate. Ensures that the parent/guardian of every student athlete competing has signed an informed consent form that while mitigation efforts that exceed GoA/AHS requirements will be in place at ASAA provincials, there is a risk of COVID infection occurring at any time, anywhere, and that participation in this event is undertaken with knowledge of the risk of communicable disease spread involved.
Number of Teams: reduced from 12 to 10 Results in fewer athletes, coaches, spectators and fewer locations from across the province in most cases. Also allows 2 hour time slots between games to allow clearing out gyms, sanitization and air exchange.
Virtual coach meeting: The coach meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday evening instead of in-person. This reduces physical interaction between coaches from various Zones.
Team Practices: No team practices will be available prior to or during the tournament Minimizes extra use of the gym, and in some cases, eliminates a requirement for teams to come in on Wednesday and stay overnight.
Team Photos: No team photos will be taken onsite and need to be provided by each school. Teams will be required to submit a team photo to the host for use on the website and in the championship program.
No Opening Ceremonies This reduces a large gathering of all participants from across the Province at one location at one time.
No Championship Banquet This reduces unnecessary interactions between participants.
Awards: Award ceremonies will implement proper physical distancing between teams, volunteers and officials. A designated person from each team will retrieve any medals and/or banners and distribute them to the appropriate individuals. Masking is required at all times. This reduces contact while still being able to present the awards.
Adhere to host safety protocols: The safety measures imposed at a host facility or by a host school jurisdiction will be followed. If the safety measures are less restrictive than the protocols of the ASAA, the ASAA protocols will be used. This is essential for event operation and if a school jurisdiction or school has more restrictive policies/procedures than those of the ASAA, the more restrictive policies/procedures must be followed.
Spectators: Allowance for spectators will be determined by each individual host school jurisdiction and administration. This allows school jurisdictions and hosts to impose the restrictions that best suit their circumstances
Officials: Officials will adhere to all officiating protocols and regulations imposed on them as members of the AVOA. This is a requirement of AVOA officiating the events, while ensuring that studentathlete & coach/official interactions remain safe.
Face Masks: Face masks must be worn by all individuals: athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers, others, at all times except athletes when they are competing. Athletes must wear masks while on the bench. The Libero must have their mask on if they are not on the court and are within 2 meters of other athletes. Athletes can take their mask off when they are going to the substitution zone. This reduces risk of droplet/aerosol infection resulting in communicable disease spread
Hand sanitizer provided: It will be available at the entry and exit points as well as in the team areas. Additional sanitizing step to reduce risk of communicable disease spread
Avoid athlete to athlete contact outside of games: No handshakes or other physical contact permitted before, during or after competition. This reduces physical contact/risk of communicable disease spread
Pre-Game: Captains will not shake hands and physical distancing will occur between players and officials. Mask must be worn during the captains meeting. This reduces unnecessary interactions between individuals.
Post-Game: Teams will not shake hands after the game. (consider a brief team cheer as acknowledgement instead). Teams will minimize time on the court following the game and leave the facility in a timely fashion. This reduces unnecessary interactions between individuals.
Sanitization: The score table must be cleaned and disinfected between each new group of scorers. The benches, referee stands and game equipment must be cleaned and disinfected between each match. Before each match, the game ball(s) will be sanitized. Increased sanitization measures reduce the risk of droplet transmission
Side Switching: Teams will remain on their side of the court for the duration of the match. The home team will establish their bench, and the opponent may not select it during the coin toss. To limit shared surfaces and communal points of contact.
Hospitality Room: Hospitality rooms will not be available for officials, coaches or volunteers. If a host chooses to offer refreshments for coaches and officials, all items must be single serve items that are individually packaged or prepared and a safe access/distribution process implemented. This minimizes interactions between individuals.
Team Designated Area: Hosts may choose to assign a designated space to each team.
If the host school does provide a designated team area: upon arrival, the host will assign a classroom or separate space to each participating team. This space is restricted to those participants for the duration of the event. When not competing, a team must either be in their designated space or leave the host facility.
If the host school does NOT provide a designated team area: teams must wait to enter the building until the host has indicated to the coach that the gym is cleaned and accessible. Teams must arrive changed and proceed to the gym. Teams must leave the school building when they are not playing.
The host will provide a separate space for officials.		 This minimizes interactions between teams and officials.
Online souvenir apparel orders: Apparel sales will be online only. No items will be available onsite for purchase. Souvenir apparel will be on display, but cannot be handled. All sales will be completed online, and must be made on the day of the event using Elite Apparel’s store. Apparel will be screened and mailed out post-event.