March 24, 2021
Dear Club and League Representatives:
Please allow this communication to serve as an update on weekly testing, beginning April 2, 2021, of all athletes ages 13 to 19 for participation in contact sports, including youth (club) soccer. MSYSA still has not secured a lot of needed information from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. However, MDHHS did recently update their website with information on their MI Safer Sports Testing Program.
As of April 2, 2021, the options available to clubs/member organizations are to direct their athletes, ages 13 to 19, to use local testing sites, contract with a vendor/lab, procure their own rapid antigen testing supplies or ENROLL IN THE MI SAFER SPORTS TESTING PROGRAM to request free rapid antigen testing kits be shipped to you. Trained club/member organization personnel will need to administer tests on-site, using point of care (rapid) antigen tests. Should you choose to secure free antigen testing kits from MDHHS, clubs/member organizations must secure a CLIA Waiver, have PPE, dispose of biohazardous waste (used tests), watch MDHHS training videos, and report (online) all positive and negative tests results to MDHHS. Upon the completion of testing training, a signed consent form, and other program requirements, clubs and member organizations can begin the MI Safer Sports Testing Program.
As a Sports Organizer, MSYSA must know the intentions of our affiliated clubs and member organizations with respect to testing, starting April 2, 2021. Once you have carefully reviewed and considered the options currently available, please complete our online form. This form is only for clubs/member organizations who plan to participate in testing. If not completed by April 2, 2021, MSYSA will assume respective clubs/member organizations do not plan to engage with testing athletes ages 13 to 19. As such, MSYSA affiliated activities for these athletes will cease unless a new, or amended, MDHHS Emergency Order permits otherwise.
MSYSA acknowledges that the existing testing order, which runs through April 19, 2021, represents significant challenges for our affiliated clubs and member organizations. Unlike the Michigan High School Athletic Association, club soccer does not have a comparable infrastructure in terms of school buildings with athletic directors, nurses, trainers, etc. Additionally, MSYSA has shared, very directly, with MDHHS our concerns about teams/clubs, other sports, etc., simply ignoring the testing order and/or choosing to participate out of state where risk mitigation measures may be distinctively less restrictive than Michigan, and what their plan is for handling. To this end, MSYSA has requested the names of sports clubs/organizers who were recently identified and fined as a result of not following previous MDHHS Emergency Orders. MSYSA will share this information if/when received.
To date, MSYSA is not aware of any data (from MDHHS) that indicates that COVID-19 outbreaks are occurring as a result of youth soccer participation. MSYSA is very proud of our work with all of you, and with the University of Michigan School of Public Health (UMSPH), on risk mitigation and our return-to-play guidelines this past year. In short, we’ve proven that, collectively, we can conduct youth soccer safely and what we are doing works.
MSYSA remains actively engaged with our legal counsel and with our team from UMSPH. Please monitor our website and/or social media platforms for additional updates.
Sincerely,
Thomas Faro
Executive Director
cc.: MSYSA Board of Directors
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
