Hoboken Little League | Spring 2021 

Registration Requirements | Health & Safety Guidelines / Procedures

*The Hoboken Little League is strictly following all health and safety guidelines/procedures that have been mandated and/or recommended by our state and local government officials. Please note that all participants, including, but not limited, to players, families, coaches, and spectators, must adhere to all of the following guidelines in order to participate in the spring baseball program. Please also note that the guidelines are subject to change at any point in time, as directed by our state and local government officials. 

Participant Requirements:

• All participants in the program must have registered with Hoboken City through the Recreation Department ( www.hobokennj.org/register) and with the Little League through Blue Sombrero (https://tshq.bluesombrero.com) in order to play in the spring baseball season.

• All participants must have been drafted/formally placed on a spring baseball team within their corresponding age range/division in order to participate in the program. 

Player Screening/Health:

• Parents should perform a quick health screening prior to attending all practices/games to ensure that their child is not showing any signs of illness. 

• Parent are required to complete the brief health screening on the TeamSnap app prior to attending all practices and games; this should be completed on the day of practice/games and coaches will be monitoring on a daily basis prior to/during events. 

• Any players that have a fever of 100.4° or above and/or other signs of COVID-19 and/or illness are not permitted to attend any baseball related events; including, but not limited, to the following: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, stomachache, diarrhea, or headaches. Your child will be immediately sent home if he/she reports and/or displays any signs of illness while at practice/games. 

• If anyone in your immediate household is showing signs of illness and/or symptoms of COVID-19, and/or has tested positive for COVID-19, your child is NOT permitted to attend any Little League sponsored events. Please contact your team manager and an administrator in the Little League program to discuss/formulate a plan. 

• Players must be fever-free, without the use of over-the-counter medicine for at least 48 hours when in   attendance. 

• Any player who has experienced direct exposure with someone who has fallen ill to COVID-19, has tested positive for COVID-19, and/or has been presenting any symptoms of COVID-19/illness must not attend any related baseball events for an approximate 10 – 14 day period (the plan/timeframe will be determined at the discretion and in consultation with the City of Hoboken/Health Department. A plan of action will follow the guidelines set forth by the NJ Department of Health/Hoboken Department of Health and may vary based on the nature of exposure/circumstances). In such circumstances, the participant is required to immediately reach out to their team manager and an administrator in the Little League via the following email to confidentially share the date of exposure and to discuss/formulate a plan of action. 

• To confidentially reach out to an administrator with questions, concerns, and to report exposure/illness, please email: [email protected] 

Travel Guidelines / Quarantine: 

• At this point in time, the New Jersey Department of Health and the local officials in Hoboken strongly discourage residents from all non-essential travel outside of the tri-state area. Moreover, according to the CDC, “travel increases your risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19” and they are strongly recommending that you do not travel at this time. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that any individual who has traveled outside of the tri-state area (any state/country outside of NY, NJ, CT, DE, and PA) should follow all guidelines put forth by the NJ Department of Health and our local officials before returning to any event that is sponsored by the Hoboken Little League baseball program; please refer to the following link to the state/local official guidelines for more information about this mandate as it often changes ( https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/nj-information/travel-and-transportation/are-there-travel-restrictions-to-or-from-new-jersey)

As of 3/29/21, the CDC/State of New Jersey Department of Health guidelines state the following: Travelers and residents returning from any U.S. state or territory beyond the immediate region (New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Delaware) should self-quarantine at their home, hotel, or other temporary lodging following recommendations from the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-during-covid19.html)

• If travel is unavoidable, travelers should consider getting tested with a viral test (not an antibody test) 1-3 days before the trip and again 3-5 days AFTER the trip (in other words, AFTER you arrive back home). 
• If travelers test positive, they should self-isolate for at least 10 days and should postpone travel during that time.
• If travelers test negative, they should quarantine for a full 7 days after travel EVEN if your post-travel test is negative. 
• If testing is not available (or if the results are delayed), travelers should quarantine for 10 days after travel.

• If you have any questions/concerns regarding travel restrictions and/or related to your circumstances, please reach out to an administrator at: [email protected]

Social Distancing: 

• All participants must maintain appropriate social distancing at all times/whenever possible; coaches/players will be required to maintain six feet or more distance from others as much as possible, unless it is part of an organized “play” during the game (e.g., tagging out, sliding into bases, and/or catching in the dugout while batter is in play, etc.). 

• Players will not be permitted in the dugout when the teams are on offense/batting. All players will be seated in the front rows of the stands in a staggered, distanced seating arrangement with their masks on. Catchers are permitted in the dugout when waiting to bat. If more than one person is in the dugout, masks must be worn and/or social distancing should take place. 

Masks/Face Coverings:

• All players must wear a mask/face covering when entering/exiting the property, while in close distance with others, and when in the designated “dugout” area. Players may take down their mask/face covering when they are on the field/and in play. 

• All coaches are required to wear a mask/face covering at all times, without exception.

• All spectators/parents are required to wear a mask/face covering at all times while on the property, without exception. 

Parents/Spectators:

• Non-essential visitors, spectators, staff, volunteers, vendors, and other attendees will be limited. 

• All parents/spectators must maintain appropriate social distance from others at all times; maintaining at least six feet of distance from others outside of your immediate family at all times. 

• There will be limited seating available for parents/spectators in the stands. 

• Parents/spectators will be permitted to sit in designated rows of the stands in a specified, staggered seating arrangement; immediate family members who reside in the same household may sit directly next to each other. All others must be seated at least three seats apart from other parties at all times and within six feet of each other in all directions. Spectators are not permitted to be seated in the area marked off by yellow tape. Parents/Spectators are not permitted to sit in the rows directly behind the players. 

• Parents/spectators are not permitted on the field or in the dugout at any time; no exceptions. 

Facility/Field: 

• The field area/facility that will be used for practices/games will post signage in highly-visible locations with reminders of social distancing protocols, face coverings requirements, and hygiene practices. 

• Hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and/or soap and water, or other sanitizing materials will be readily available as needed. 

• There will be routine disinfecting and sanitizing at the facility particularly of high-touch areas as needed. 

Additional Safety Procedures / Equipment:

• Players must bring the following equipment to all games:

Baseball catching glove

Water bottle (clearly marked with name)

• It is recommended that all players bring their own helmet and an official/regulated baseball bat to all practices and games. However, there will be bats and helmets on site for those in need and team managers/coaches will sanitize them as needed. 

• Players/coaches are not permitted to share water/drinks/food for any reason and are discouraged from sharing personal equipment whenever possible. Personal belongings should only be used by the individual owner or operator, including but not limited to, catcher’s gear, water bottles, gloves, baseball hats, and other relevant gear or equipment, with the exception of baseball bats/helmets as noted above. 

• Players are not permitted to share catcher’s gear during the games. Team managers must make arrangements regarding catcher’s gear prior to the games with players/league as needed. 

• All personal equipment such as baseball bags will be separately stored in a specified location during the game; such equipment will be separated with appropriate distance to avoid contact between players.

• No touch rule will be in place at all times. Participants will refrain from engaging in handshakes, high fives, and other physical contact at all times, without exception. 

• At the end of the game, players will be permitted to utilize alternate means such as “tipping their hats” to honor the game with the other team in a socially distant manner; players will not engage in the classic “good game” line of handshakes after the game, and instead, a safe alternative will take place to allow the modeling of positive sportsmanship to continue. 

• No spitting or eating seeds, gum, or any other food is allowed during pre-game, game time, or at any point while on the property. 

• The sanitizing of all shared equipment will take place at touchpoints throughout the game (as needed) and will take place as much as deemed necessary; baseballs, bats, catcher’s equipment, and other items will be sanitized regularly throughout the game when warranted. 

• Players/coaches will sanitize their hands prior to entering the field, at various touchpoints during the game (as needed), and before exiting the field after the game. Sanitizer will be made readily available to all players/coaches during the game. 

• Players/coaches are strongly urged to utilize the restrooms prior to coming to the game. However, the use of the restrooms will inevitably be needed. Players/coaches are to utilize the restrooms one at a time and must wash/sanitize hands directly after use.