From the Desk of Gordon Henderson
Executive Director
Ohio South Youth Soccer
May 1, 2020
I think the two most common questions we are getting at the Ohio South office right now are;
Q: When will the spring season resume normal play?
I know people are looking for absolutes here, but we simply just do not know at this point in time. All we do know is as follows;
- Yesterday, April 30, the State of Ohio extended the ‘Stay Safe Ohio Order’ through May 29, 2020. The only exceptions are essential activities, Governmental functions or essential businesses.
The full order is available here.
- The order also specifically cites recreational sports tournaments and organized recreational sports leagues as prohibited activities. This applies to leagues irrespective if they are ‘competitive’ or ‘recreational’.
- The State of Ohio still has a ‘Mass Gathering Order’ which includes athletic events of 10+ people. This has no expiration date at this point.
- At this point, all of Ohio South’s member leagues are making individual decisions on their spring seasons, some have cancelled and some are waiting to see if restrictions will be lifted in June or July so play can resume in some fashion. Please contact your local league if you have any questions.
In order of us to begin to contemplate a return to play date for ANY event (training, league games or sanctioned tournaments) BOTH these Public Orders will need to be rescinded and/or left to expire.
Q: Can teams begin training in small groups if they are less than 10 players and practice social distancing?
No – even though small group activities could meet to avoid the ‘mass gathering’ threshold, it does not meet the standards of an essential business or activity. It does fall under the Stay Safe order until May 29.
We will return to play at some point in time…. it is very important that people understand that, we just do not know exactly when. More information will follow in the coming weeks as the State of Ohio evaluates caseloads as we slowly return to normalcy.
We truly appreciate everyone’s understanding and flexibility during these unprecedented times.