The only way to hold disc golf events during this pandemic is to commit to risk mitigation. We already are doing several things in that realm: tee times, 20 mins apart; curbside player pack pick-up and check in; digital scoring and no traditional tournament central; no player party or provided communal lunch; mask-wearing. Those are all methods by which we can mitigate risk.
Given the news that at least one WVO attendee has tested positive for COVID-19, we are also engaging in three more pieces of risk mitigation:
(1) Five minutes before your tee time, report to your starting hole (hole 6 at Franklin; hole 1 at Clark's). Your course TD will perform a temperature check with a contactless thermometer and ask you the following: "Have you been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19? Are you experiencing a cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat? Have you had a fever in the last 48 hours? Have you had new loss of taste or smell? Have you had vomiting or diarrhea in the last 24 hours?" Only if you can honestly answer "no" to all five of those questions AND if your temperature is under 100.4 will you be permitted to tee off. If you have to answer "yes" to any of those or if your temperature is 100.4 or over, we will not be able to let you compete. AMs will keep their player pack; PROs will be refunded.
(2) Any player in the LoCo Open who also participated in the West Virginia Open (or members of their households) will be in tee time groups only with other players in that situation. Those cards will tee off at the end of each day, with a 40-minute break between the rest of the field and them. This means tee times now extend from 7:20am to 3:00pm.
Please note that this does NOT mean these players have COVID, or that they're being punished. It is the same principle as keeping household/pod members together in a one-round event: limiting contacts as much as possible.
(3) WVO players who were in close contact with someone who tested positive have been notified by WVO tournament staff:
"Additionally, those players who were on a card or had close contact have been sent a follow up which includes instructions to quarantine to the best of their ability, withdraw from events or gatherings for two weeks time, AND they have been asymptomatic or tested for that time."
It is my understanding that this is a small pool of people. WVO staff are following up with those direct risk cases and will continue to do so. The reason we're working through WVO staff is to protect the privacy of the players. There is no reason to think direct-risk individuals will take any action other than getting tested and taking this seriously. If there's evidence to the contrary, WVO staff will inform me and we will cross that bridge at that point.
Questions I will answer: details about any of the above.
Questions I will not answer (and to which I in fact do not know the answers): identities of affected individuals.
LoCo Open 9 COVID procedures update:
The only way to hold disc golf events during this pandemic is to commit to risk mitigation. We already are doing several things in that realm: tee times, 20 mins apart; curbside player pack pick-up and check in; digital scoring and no traditional tournament central; no player party or provided communal lunch; mask-wearing. Those are all methods by which we can mitigate risk.
Given the news that at least one WVO attendee has tested positive for COVID-19, we are also engaging in three more pieces of risk mitigation:
(1) Five minutes before your tee time, report to your starting hole (hole 6 at Franklin; hole 1 at Clark's). Your course TD will perform a temperature check with a contactless thermometer and ask you the following: "Have you been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19? Are you experiencing a cough, shortness of breath, or sore throat? Have you had a fever in the last 48 hours? Have you had new loss of taste or smell? Have you had vomiting or diarrhea in the last 24 hours?" Only if you can honestly answer "no" to all five of those questions AND if your temperature is under 100.4 will you be permitted to tee off. If you have to answer "yes" to any of those or if your temperature is 100.4 or over, we will not be able to let you compete. AMs will keep their player pack; PROs will be refunded.
(2) Any player in the LoCo Open who also participated in the West Virginia Open (or members of their households) will be in tee time groups only with other players in that situation. Those cards will tee off at the end of each day, with a 40-minute break between the rest of the field and them. This means tee times now extend from 7:20am to 3:00pm.
Please note that this does NOT mean these players have COVID, or that they're being punished. It is the same principle as keeping household/pod members together in a one-round event: limiting contacts as much as possible.
(3) WVO players who were in close contact with someone who tested positive have been notified by WVO tournament staff:
"Additionally, those players who were on a card or had close contact have been sent a follow up which includes instructions to quarantine to the best of their ability, withdraw from events or gatherings for two weeks time, AND they have been asymptomatic or tested for that time."
It is my understanding that this is a small pool of people. WVO staff are following up with those direct risk cases and will continue to do so. The reason we're working through WVO staff is to protect the privacy of the players. There is no reason to think direct-risk individuals will take any action other than getting tested and taking this seriously. If there's evidence to the contrary, WVO staff will inform me and we will cross that bridge at that point.
Questions I will answer: details about any of the above.
Questions I will not answer (and to which I in fact do not know the answers): identities of affected individuals.