On-Field Protocols:

1. All field time is assigned by Millbrae Lions Baseball (MLB) and Millbrae Girls Softball (MGSA).  Teams may only use fields during their scheduled field time.  There are no open times.  All use is scheduled specifically by team.
    
2. Coaches and athletes only may be in attendance.  Immediate household members may observe practices and games as needed for age-appropriate supervision, but observers should be limited to ensure physical distance can be maintained, reduce potential crowding, and maintain outdoor capacity limits allowed by Tiers.
    

3. Temperature will be checked before entering the field. Coaches and players with a temperature over 100.4 degrees are not permitted to attend.

4. All coaches and players are required to stay home if they show symptoms of illness including, but not limited to: temperature, cough, sore throat, sneezing, body aches, loss of sense of smell, difficulty breathing, or fatigue.

5. Sharing equipment (with the exception of balls) is not allowed. Players must use their own bat, glove, helmet, and face-shield.  Catchers gear, if shared, must be spray sanitized between users.

6. Personal protective equipment face coverings are to be worn at all times by coaches and athletes on the field, with the exception of water and breathing breaks.

7. Hand sanitizer will be provided on the field and applied to coaches and players before, during, and after scheduled sessions.  

8. No handshakes, fist bumps, elbow bumps, or contact of any kind is allowed at any time.

9. Players should be kept 6 feet apart, including in dugouts. If teams desire to have players sit, players should be instructed to bring their own chairs and should be spread out behind dugouts, outside of the fence, a minimum of 6 feet apart.

10. Players are not permitted to gather or huddle around batting cages. A maximum of one player in the batting cage and one player waiting by the batting cage door is allowed. All other players should be elsewhere on the field, at least 6 feet apart.

11. Coaches must log daily attendance for contact tracing (team sites provided by their respective leagues).

12. There will be no use of the snack shack at this time. No food should be brought to practices and games and players should not share water bottles or other drinks at any time.

13. All players and coaches recommended to shower and change their clothes immediately after returning home.

14. Activity or gatherings of any kind before or after scheduled events are prohibited. Non-baseball/softball gatherings at the fields are prohibited.  

COVID-19 Positive/Direct Contact Protocol

In the event any player’s household is notified that they have been in direct contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19:

1. That family must notify coach immediately

2. Team/Pod holds off on having any additional practices or gatherings.

3. The exposed family must quarantine for 14 days from their last contact with a positive-tested individual. 

4. The exposed family should schedule a test for the contact person as soon as possible and advise results to their coach.

If positive test result or unable to get testing done:

“Pod” is shut down for 14 calendar days from their last interaction as a pod to ensure no symptoms develop in any pod members.  All “pod” households must quarantine for 14 days from last interaction together.

If exposed player has a negative test result:

“Pod” may resume with practices/events, along with the player from the initial family that was exposed. The contact household is requested to follow more stringent daily monitoring for symptoms, along with daily temperature check, which should be reported back to the coach.

Competition:

Upon San Mateo County’s return to the Red Tier, game play may occur between 2 separate teams, pursuant to the State of California’s updated guidance dated December 14, 2020.  

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/outdoor-indoor-recreational-sports.aspx

To mitigate potential transmission and ease back into competition, the initial schedule will be for every team to practice within the team only for 2 weeks. 
- Through the course of 1 week (Week 3, in this example) one team (team A) will play only one other team (team B) a series of games. 
- Upon completion of the competition week, both teams will revert back to practice within their team only for 2 weeks. (weeks 4 and 5)
- After the 2 weeks of inter-team only practice, teams will then have a competition week with another team (A vs C, B vs. D)
- As comfort with protocols and competition builds, dependent upon San Mateo County’s transmission rate, tier, and positivity, the leagues may move into a more standard, normal schedule (i.e., playing one team for one week and then another for the next week, removing the 2 week isolation period between competitions). 
- Alternately, if teams/leagues prefer to play a double-header instead of week-long competition, then the alternate schedule would be:
Week 1: Practice Only
Week 2: Practice Only
Weekend of Week 2: Double Header (A vs. B, C vs D)
Week 3: Practice Only
Week 4: Practice Only
Weekend of Week 4: Double Header (A vs. C, B vs. D)

If at any time Millbrae falls back into the Purple Tier, all competition will be cancelled and teams will revert back to single-team only practices until Millbrae re-emerges into a Red or higher tier.

Game Play:
Each defensive team will use their own balls during gameplay. Offensive Team (batting team) is not to touch the ball with their hands at any time.  Upon completion of the half-inning, the exiting defensive team’s balls will be placed back to their dugout, and the entering defensive team will bring out their own balls. 

Umpire to stand behind the pitcher to call balls and strikes, at minimum 6’ distance behind the pitcher.  

Sanitization:
New balls for all games.  In the event used balls are incorporated into a game, coaches will sanitize balls first.  Balls are to be sanitized and as needed throughout the course of each game (e.g., if the ball leaves the field of play).  

Sanitizer is to be applied every time coming off of the field (when players/coaches go back to their designated, spaced, and marked locations for breaks and water), and again when returning to the field.

Transition:
At the end of each game, the exiting team will clear out their dugout of trash and spray sanitize all common touch areas in the dugout.
Entering team is to wait in the outfield to allow easy egress from the dugout for the exiting team, and only enter once the exiting team coaches have sanitized and left the dugout area.