COVID Protocols

Note: Local conditions drive local requirements. Requirements at away games may be very different than what works for your local region. All participants must follow the home field rules. For the most part these are requirements imposed on AYSO by the municipalities and districts that provide us with fields and AYSO has agreed that all of these local requirements apply to all participants (players, spectators, coaches, referees, assistants, everyone at the site of a game), so please do not ask for exceptions, there is no one in AYSO who can grant one.

We are publishing the known requirements below as an aid to visiting teams. This list is incomplete and may be augmented by local regions as they react to changing conditions. Visiting teams should reach out to and stay in contact with the home team to learn the latest updates.

Pre-Game Meetings to Review

Prior to any game where one team is from another region or the referees are not local to the Home region, 2J recommends a brief meeting between the referees and coaches of both teams. At this meeting the Coach of the Home team will inform/remind the others of the local Covid rules for that field. Note: the Coaches per AYSO are responsible for the behavior of their player’s parents, but this meeting is an opportunity to discuss potential problems and perhaps ask for help from the Refs with enforcing a rule when the parent or spectator is recalcitrant.

Enforcement

Referees shall treat the failure to adhere to local health rules as a safety issue - refusing to start the game until all parties meet the requirements, pausing the game until requirements are met, or abandoning the match if parties refuse to comply. Coaches are responsible for managing their players’ and parent behavior (as well as their own). The pre-game conference described above is a good tool to reinforce support between refs and coaches in the enforcement, and a reminder that across AYSO the responsibility for adhering to local requirements is shared by all participants -- but there is no one party who is our “mask police”, we all agree to satisfy the local rules and to help each other meet or exceed the requirements.

Home Field Requirements by Region

Region 45: Mountain View

Region 45 Game Requirements (Everyone)
● All coaches at games must wear a mask as much as possible
● Everyone watching at the game and near the field must wear a mask and stay 3 feet socially distanced from people who are not in their family group at all times and at least 6 feet away from the field and from players not in the game.
● People watching the game from a significant distance are encouraged to wear a mask, but not required. The distance is at the coaches discretion.
● All players on the sidelines should wear a mask when not in the game
● For 6U, 8U Players on the field (in the game): They are required to wear a mask as much as possible.
● For 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 19U Players on the field (in the game): They are not required to wear a mask, but are encouraged to do so.
● Post-game snacks should be encouraged to be take-home
● Spectators and teams will be on opposite sides of the field. The home team coach will pick the side they want to be on.

Region 64: West San Jose

Cupertino Union School District guidelines require adults and children to wear a mask on campus at all times, indoors and outdoors, regardless of vaccine status.
- This policy covers all AYSO use of any fields at Miller, as well as any games that may get scheduled at Hyde and Eaton.

Region 256: Prunedale

The COVID protocols for Prunedale follow the county guidelines for being outside. No masks required for the players on the field. Refs and coaches are encouraged to wear them but not required, same with subs on the sidelines - but the subs should not group together unless they are wearing a mask. Spectators not of the same family unit should be socially distanced or be wearing masks.