Union County Special Olympics

Special Olympics Ohio has given instructions on how affiliations can return to practice. However, there are strict guidelines that must be followed. I've created this survey to help form practice pods and see who is comfortable returning to practice.

Please review the following guidelines of returning to Special Olympics practice for phase 1:

1. Coaches will need to make sure that they are promoting personal hygiene practices, such as hand washing.
2. Face coverings or masks should be worn at all times by all participants.
3. Coaches must observe athletes for any type of symptoms prior to a workout. It is also recommended to conduct temperature checks prior to each practice and should include all volunteers and coaches as well.
a. Any person with positive symptoms should not take part in practice and should contact a medical provider immediately and follow prescribed quarantine procedures.
4. Local coordinators will need to work with coaches to adjust the structure of practice, incorporating more drills and activities that players can perform at a safe distance from one another.
5. Coaches should use cohorting techniques for practices (e.g., splitting up into groups to run drills to limit the amount of contact between athletes).
6. Look at limiting the group size and adding more sessions, or stagger start and end times.
7. During this time, remember that athletes have not been training for the past 3-4 months, so slowly increase intensity of practice each week.
8. We strongly suggest only one practice per week and continuation of virtual workouts and training.
9. During this phase, no more than 10 people should be in attendance at any given practice.
10. There should be no use of locker rooms during this phase. Athletes should report to practice properly dressed and immediately return home to shower at the end of practice.
11. There should be no spectators at practice. Parents or guardians should drop off their athlete and remain in their vehicles while doing so.
12. Teams should ONLY be practicing during this time; no team is permitted to hold any games or competitions against other programs.
13. No other in-person gatherings of 10 people or more should take place on behalf of Special Olympics at the local level.
14. There should be no group travel or overnight stays.