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NBC Provides COVID-19 Guidelines

The purpose of this document is to provide our affiliated leagues and teams with information to assist them with planning their season in the context of COVID-19. Many of these recommendations rely upon rules and regulations set forth by public health authorities, which will be different across the country.

The information in this document is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, are provided for general informational purposes only. The knowledge and circumstances around COVID-19 are changing constantly and, as such, the National Baseball Congress makes no representation and assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of this information. Further, you should seek advice from medical professionals and/or public health officials if you have specific questions about your return to training and competition.

The following link and key factors address specific issues that are recommended to take into consideration when planning a baseball season or event; https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

  1. If you are sick or someone in your circle of friends and family are – stay home.
  2. Individuals that are “at risk” need to stay home.
  3. Signage displayed encouraging hand washing/healthy practices.
  4. In-shell nuts and seeds banned from facility.
  5. Bleachers closed or maintain 6-foot distance at all times.
  6. Encourage use of lawn chairs and blankets and sit- along the backstops/fences- make sure you are social distancing.
  7. If concession is open, abide by local health regulations.
  8. Have a dugout health monitor to keep things clean and wiped down.
  9. No handshakes or high-fives during or after the game.
  10. No celebrations.
  11. No umpire confrontation- any discussion must be minimum 6’ apart.
  12. Gear and helmets – try not to share- wipe down often and as needed.
  13. Changeout baseball every inning. Disinfect baseball before re-entering play.
  14. Virtually extend dugouts to allow for distancing – players will be allowed to sit outside the dugout or in stands.
  15. Each team has its own rosin bag for pitchers.
  16. Each player has his own helmet.
  17. No water coolers in the dugout. Team members use individual water bottle.
  18. No spitting.
  19. Ensure availability of rubber gloves to team staff and volunteers handling laundry, towels, etc.
  20. If coaches visit the pitcher, all other players should stay outside the pitching circle.
  21. It is recommended that a designated adult be assigned by the offensive team, to be responsible for picking up the bat after it is used. This person should wear disposable gloves and wipe down the bats after each use.

DISCLAIMER: Participants, parents, family, and spectators engaging in baseball and activities related to baseball do so with knowledge of the risk and potential exposure involved and agree to accept any and all inherent risks to their personal health. NOTE TO ALL PARTICIPANTS: National Baseball Congress does not dictate when local state and metro associations can start playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting play will be determined by local associations working with their local governmental agencies. Teams coming from other areas should respect and follow their local governmental agency restrictions (where they reside).
Predetermine appropriate emergency contacts should anything arise during your event.
Develop a procedure for how to handle any possible cases. This includes a designated area for those who show symptoms and all those they came into contact with to be isolated until ambulance called.

Complex Cleaning
Staff will sanitize bleachers at the end of every day. Staff will sanitize dugouts in between games.

Staff will sanitize all high traffic areas on a regular basis throughout the day.

If available, PA announcements will be made during each game with COVID-19 recommendations.

Complex/COVID-19 recommendations and rules should be posted throughout the complex.

Workers and others should be instructed that if they are exhibiting symptoms of possible exposure to COVID- 19, such as fever, that they should not come to events or work until such time as the participant has been tested and/or cleared.

Employees, vendors, fans and teams are recommended to screen themselves at home prior to coming to the ballpark. If they have a temperature exceeding 100.4, they should be asked to stay home. They should also not come to the ballpark if they are known to have been recently exposed to someone with COVID-19.

Liability Waiver
In addition to taking reasonable protective measures to limit risks, a liability waiver is another simple, familiar, and cost-effective step that businesses can take to protect against potential liability for exposure claims. Most individuals are familiar with liability waivers, and you probably signed one prior to opening a gym membership or going skiing, sending your kids on a school fieldtrip, or after calling the plumber to fix a broken pipe at home. A waiver is simply a voluntary relinquishment or abandonment of a legal right. Waiver, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019). A liability waiver — sometimes also called an exculpatory agreement — is a written contract between two or more parties in which one party (generally the customer) acknowledges the risks of participating in an activity or of accepting the services of another party (generally the provider). Most importantly, the customer also agrees to prospectively waive the right to sue the provider for injuries or damages arising out of the activity or services. The waiver may be as simple as a clause in a services contract or a separate form of its own, and the parties will typically execute it prior to or immediately following performance of the subject services.

Even though liability waivers are routine and well-known, it is unclear whether a COVID19 waiver relieving a service provider of liability for exposure claims would be enforceable. This is due, in part, to the practical reality that no court in the country has yet analyzed such waiver in this context. But basic legal principles should guide any such analysis, and those seeking to execute liability waivers should consider the following general principles.

What happens if someone tests positive for COVID-19
If someone tests positive for COVID-19, they must remain at home for 72 hours after the end of symptoms or 10 days after symptom onset, whichever is longer.

They should stay away from other people in their home to avoid spreading the virus to them.
If someone test positive for COVID-19 in the hospital, they will be isolated in the hospital while they receive treatment.

If they are well enough to be released, they must remain at home for 72 hours after the end of symptoms or 10 days after symptom onset, whichever is longer.

They should stay away from other people in their home to avoid spreading the virus to them.
Close contact is defined as someone who has been closer than 6 feet for more than 10 minutes while a patient is symptomatic.