Washington Utah Little League Parents and Players,
Yesterday the National Little League Board released the following statement:
“As information continues to become available regarding the increasing spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), we wanted to provide you, our leagues and district administrators, with additional guidance on the implementation of the Little League® program in your local communities.
Little League International operates more than 6,500 programs in more than 84 countries, and therefore, we recommend that our leagues exercise an abundance of caution and implement a temporary suspension of all league activities until no earlier than April 6.
While each community is being affected differently by the coronavirus, the Little League International Board of Directors and staff feel that it is in the best interest of our volunteers and participant families to delay the implementation of the Little League season to begin no earlier April 6. If your league chooses to continue to operate in its local community, then we strongly encourage you to seek the counsel of your community municipalities, public health departments, and local school districts.”
We have met as a local board and have decided to follow the recommendations of the National Little League. As such, we will be cancelling Opening Ceremonies. Additionally, we are suspending the start of our season games until at least Monday, April 6th. We will continue to monitor the situation and follow the guidelines and suggestions set forth by local health departments, community municipalities, local school districts and the National Little League.
We support that some coaches will choose to suspend practices and we also support that some coaches will continue to hold practices. We understand that some players will choose not to attend practices until after April 6. We support a player’s personal choice in this situation and would like to be clear that there will be no ramifications towards a player for any choice that he or she makes. We would strongly encourage those who would like to still hold practices to do so under careful guidelines:
- Hands should be washed thoroughly before and after practices
- Players or family members who are sick, fevering or actively coughing should avoid contact with other players
- Equipment should be sanitized regularly
- Avoid unnecessary contact with others
- Make sure players have their own food and water bottles and no sharing is taking place
(If your player is on a team that has suspended practices and you would still like him or her to have the opportunity to practice, please contact a board member. We can put you in touch with a coach who is still holding practices and your player will have the opportunity to practice with them until the season starts.)
We are committed to keeping our players safe, yet we are still trying to give them the best experience and opportunity to play the game we all love. Feel free to contact a member of the board with any questions or concerns. Board members’ info can be found at washingtonutahll.com
Thank you for patience and understanding as we navigate through this ever changing situation.
Sincerely,
Washington Utah Little League Board
