Hello Fastpitch Softball Fans,
Things will start heating up in the state beginning Saturday and it will be more than just the outside temperatures. There will be a lot of scrimmages taking place on that day. On Tuesday I'd bet that nearly every high school varsity team in the state will be playing at least one game and perhaps a twinbill to get things rolling.
My expectations for a huge number of team previews are low. History tells me not to expect a lot of them. The same goes for game summaries submitted by coaches or assigned team reporters. It seldom happens. I'm no the purveyor of doom. I have been involved in the fastpitch softball news since 1988 and fully understand how the fastpitch world turns. With all that said though, I will keep on promoting and offering everyone to do some self-promotion.
The usual response from the fastpitch world is, "I'm just so busy I don't have time to do that stuff. The truth is that it takes less than five minuites to type up a short game summary and submit it. The losers seldom report the scores.
Capitol Conference Issue COVID Protocols today. Check this out!
Capitol Conference Athletics Safety Procedures Spring 2020 - 2021 Capitol Conference Safety Procedures Health Screening Procedures
All attendees (athletes, coaches, officials, event workers, and spectators) must check their temperature at home before attending an event (practices or games). If a student-athlete or a coaching staff member has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or above, they must not attend practices or games.
All attendees must not attend practices or games if they have had close contact (within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes) with a person with confirmed COVID-19
All attendees must not attend practices or games if they are experiencing any other COVID-19 related symptoms: ◆ Cough ◆ Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing ◆ Fatigue ◆ Muscle or body aches ◆ Headache ◆ New loss of taste or smell ◆ Sore throat ◆ Congestion or runny nose ◆ Nausea or vomiting ◆ Diarrhea Screening Verification
All athletes are required to complete a COVID-19 verification form and submit to their athletic director on the day of a contest. ◆ May use WIAA tracing sheet and verification form or other documentation to verify this. Face Coverings
All coaches and players not currently competing are required to be masked.
All spectators who cannot maintain 6 feet of physical distancing from other spectators not part of their household or living unit are required to be masked.
Sport by Sport “Direct Competition” Requirements: ◆ Baseball/Softball - umpire, catcher, batter, and base runners all need to be masked. Infielders need to mask up when there is a runner on base. Field umpire follows infielder guidelines ◆ Golf - masks required on tee box and greens ◆ Soccer - masks required when ball in play for those on field ◆ Track - ● Track Events: masks/facial coverings must be worn until “On Your Mark” ● Field Events: masks/facial coverings must be worn when social distancing cannot be guaranteed Officials ➔ Officials will be granted admission up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start of competition. ◆ Officials will follow the screening procedures above. Event Workers
Event workers will be limited. Locker Rooms
No locker room access to the visiting team for events. Spectators
The host school will determine the maximum number of spectators allowed per school and will communicate that number in advance to all schools participating.
All spectators are expected to follow the host school procedures.
Facility capacity maximums will follow Dane County mass gathering limits. Concessions
Schools may sell concessions if they choose. ◆Spectators will be asked to eat/drink away from any competitors and socially distanced from other spectators. Admission
No Conference-wide monetary admission requirement.
Schools have the option to charge admission and are asked to make visiting schools aware when doing so.
Competition Timelines
Baseball & Softball ◆ Games will begin at 5:00 pm (unless otherwise noted). ➔ Golf ◆ Meets will begin at 3:30 pm (unless otherwise noted). ➔ Soccer ◆ JV matches will begin at 5:00 pm (unless otherwise noted). ◆ Varsity matches will begin no earlier than 6:45 pm (unless otherwise noted). ➔ Track and Field ◆ Meets will begin at 4:15 pm (unless otherwise noted). Equipment ➔ All teams need to bring their own equipment for use during warm-ups. ➔ In sports that use a shared ball, the game balls will be rotated/sanitized between innings/halves.
It's a mess -- but there will be games played as well as some softball games.
Have a great weekend!
Keep it Rising!
Bob
