August 27, 2020

Good morning,

I first want to acknowledge that the team at Recreation and Parks fully understands there is a clear divide in our communities as to what our continued response should be to the ongoing threat of COVID-19. Many feel we should cancel all recreational activities both indoor and outdoor especially those that involve teams and spectators. Others feel it is important to offer families healthy recreational activities. As always the priority is the safety of our young athletes.

Which brings us to our approach to the fall season. On August 26th my Recreation and Parks Administrators and I met with the County Health Officer and his leadership to discuss and finalize “return to play“ guidelines for fall sports.  We used the Maryland Sports Commission Return to Play Report’s classification of sports as low, medium, or high risk to guide our decisions during this phase of re-opening. Lacrosse, soccer, field hockey, baseball, and softball are medium risk sports that can go forward this fall with some minor modifications. Football and competitive cheer are high risk sports and can’t safely go forward without major modifications. For football, converting to flag instead of tackle or limiting to practice and training only would be the paths forward. For cheer, no stunts would be allowed. In addition, most of our surrounding counties have cancelled tackle football. While we were hopeful and began in good faith we made it clear to all that there were no guarantees. 

We realize this is disappointing and challenging for your organization, players and families. We are here to assist and support your league as you make the required adjustments.  As always it is our goal to “make life better” for our county residents especially during these unprecedented and challenging times when they are in need of healthy and safe recreation for their families. Details on the modification of other fall sports will be forthcoming

Please feel free to share with all members of your organization.