Archive: Sports

The Tompkins County Health Department is alerting the public of COVID-19 guidelines for sports and recreation. New York State Reopening Guidelines have specific types of play allowed for higher-risk, moderate risk, and low risk sports. Higher-risk sports include but are not limited to football, ice hockey, basketball, and volleyball. Competitive team practices and games, meets, matches and scrimmages are not allowed for higher-risk sports.

Competitive tournaments of multiple games, meets, matches, or scrimmages requiring travel are not allowed at this time for any risk level of sports. The travel restriction for tournaments applies to those that require travel outside of the region or beyond contiguous counties. The purpose of this restriction is to avoid a tournament that would require participants to travel from one region of New York to another (e.g. Central New York to Long Island), from one state to another, or have an unnecessary overnight stay involved.

The Health Department was notified on October 17 of an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 and had traveled to another state to participate in a tournament. This individual is asymptomatic, but could have infected others before entering isolation. As a result, almost 100 people are now in quarantine.

"While I recognize the desire we all have to play sports and conduct normal activities, I want to remind coaches, athletes, and their families that sports have restrictions at this time due to COVID-19. Based on NYS guidance from July 6, 2020, competitive tournaments requiring travel are prohibited. Please be mindful of these restrictions and limit higher risk sports to individual or distanced group training and organized no or low-contact group training," urged Frank Kruppa, Public Health Director.

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