Utah’s Move to Yellow Phase Brings Back Full Contact Soccer Trainings/Scrimmages/Games
Sandy, UT – 05.18.2020
For Immediate Release: Utah Youth Soccer Association, the leader in promoting, developing and governing youth soccer in Utah, is excited to announce that pursuant to Governor Herbert’s announcement that the state has moved into the yellow phase starting Saturday May 16th, after receiving approval from the Utah Health Department, UYSA has released its Yellow Phase Return to Play Guidelines that allow for full contact trainings, scrimmages and games for Utah Youth Soccer players.
While this is exciting news for most, please note that this change does not apply to the entire state as Grand, Summit, and Wasatch counties along with Salt Lake City and West Valley City are still under the orange phase from local authorities and will need to abide by the restrictions in their areas. Those cities/counties still under the orange phase must continue to operate under our orange guidelines (attached), no exceptions.
The UYSA leadership team had a conference call with the Chief Deputy from the Utah Health Department and received approval on the attached Yellow Phase Guidelines for a safe return to the next phase of soccer. These guidelines still include restrictions on gatherings of players to and from practice where they must be wearing masks and prohibit spectators from being near or on the training fields. Additionally, each Organizational Member must assign a COVID-19 Safety Officer who will ensure that policy is communicated club-wide. Please view the attachment for full list of guidelines.
“Utah Youth Soccer Association is grateful for the opportunity to work closely with both the Utah Health Department and our medical partner TOSH Sports Medicine to ensure we take all necessary steps and precautions as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic as the governing body of soccer in our State. We are excited to see our players back on the field as we transition back to a new normal. While there is still a lot more work ahead of us and more decisions to be made, we are happy to see our Organizational Members and Clubs taking the necessary steps and following the restrictions we’ve set in place as they’ve returned to the field for trainings,” says Utah Youth Soccer Association, CEO, Bryan Attridge.
While the Health Department approved Utah Youth Soccer’s restrictions and guidelines, there was still some concern on how these restrictions would be implemented. In order to have a better understanding of how UYSA Organizational Members institute these restrictions, UYSA will be requiring every club to submit a detailed plan on how they plan to implement these new guidelines. Clubs who practice in multiple areas across both yellow and orange phase areas will be required to submit a plan for each area.
In lieu of the Spring season that was cancelled, Utah Youth Soccer will be excited to offer a Summer Friendly Series for its players. More information to follow on these friendly matches.
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