Wrestling COVID-19 Protocols
Friday, Dec. 18, 2020
Practices to Resume Over Winter Break
Because WDMCS' waiver through the Iowa Department of Education (IDOE) expires Monday, Dec. 21, activities and athletics practices can resume in person starting Tuesday, Dec. 22.
These protocols, developed by the Valley Athletics & Activities Office and the Valley wrestling coaching staff, will help limit any possible exposure and spread of COVID-19 while practices are held.
Parking, Entering, & Exiting Valley's Facilities for Practices
Wrestlers are expected to park in the southwest lot of Valley High School. Please enter the high school through west entrance. A face mask is required upon entry.
At the conclusion of practices, wrestlers will wash their hands at Valley's handwashing stations and exit through the same way they entered.
Guidelines at Valley Wrestling Practices
Face masks are required to be worn at all times by all individuals when in Valley's facilities. The only exception will be when in a drill with a partner and wrestling live. Face masks will be worn during warmups and before practices in the wrestling room.
CLEANING/SANITIZING
Wrestlers and coaches will sanitize their hands before, during, and after practices.
Equipment used during practices will be cleaned thoroughly and frequently on a daily schedule. All mats will be cleaned and sanitized before and after practices.
There will be no shared towels, practice gear, or headgear. Wrestlers will need to bring their own water bottles.
All clothing/workout gear worn by wrestlers must be laundered each day.
LOCKER ROOMS
Face masks are required at all times in the locker room. Please only use the locker rooms when needed; these are not areas for hanging out.
Showers in the locker rooms will be available for use, with barriers set in place for social distancing purposes. It is extremely important for wrestlers to shower well immediately after practice to help reduce and eliminate any possible skin infections.
Wrestlers are expected to keep personal items in their backpack or travel bag.
FRESHMEN
Freshmen will practice in separate room to limit numbers in our spaces. This will allow us to spread pairs out at least 8- to 10-feet apart.
Freshmen practice will end before varsity practice to limit people in the locker room.
Guidelines for Valley Wrestling Meets & Tournaments
Students, staff, and spectators must wear a face mask at all times. This is in line with WDMCS’ current Return-to-Learn mitigation strategies. Guests will not be granted entry into events without a face mask.
At weigh-ins, all wrestlers will be required to wear a face mask and they must weigh in wearing their singlet. The singlet rule for weigh-ins is a new rule this year for wrestling and is not due to COVID-19. This rule will be in effect for a long time.
SEATING/TICKET POLICIES
General public tickets will not be available for purchase. For home meets and tournaments, Valley will distribute two laminated cards to each student in uniform at all levels. This is in line with the decision made by the Central Iowa Metropolitan League.
These laminated cards allow individuals to pay admission to gain entrance for the contest. It only allows an individual to purchase admission, has no cash value, and may only be used at the venue and event listed. Visiting fans will check in with Valley’s ticket seller, who will have that team’s roster. When Valley travels for meets and tournaments, our families will check in with that host school’s ticket seller.
Ticket gates will open at least 60 minutes prior to the start of each contest. Spectators are expected to sit in marked sections at facilities.
View more information about ticket prices >
CLEANING/SANITIZING
Each coach has been supplied with sanitizing spray bottles, hand sanitizer, and sanitizing wipes for team use. Athletic custodians will sanitize bleachers and spaces before and after each match. There will be mandatory cleaning of mats before the start of each dual and at the conclusion of an event. For tournaments, mats will be cleaned after each round.
Sanitizer stations are set up around the facility for guest use.
We will limit the use of chairs by mats to keep athletes separated. At home meets, we can designate bleacher space for wrestlers.
There will be multiple ankle bands available for wrestlers so sanitization is possible between matches. There will be no wrestler handshakes before, during, or after matches as well as no team handshakes after meets.
For away meets and tournaments, wrestlers will only travel if they have a match that night.
CONCESSIONS/RESTROOMS
Concessions will be open at athletics events, with sealed and pre-packaged items available for purchase.
Livestreams
Due to limited spectator attendance, WDMCS is collaborating with Central Iowa Sports Network for livestream viewing. Only HOME VARSITY events are being considered through CISN, but coaches at other levels may provide a different resource for their student-athletes and families.
Links to all home varsity livestreams will be made available on ValleyTigers.com and CISN.tv.
FamilyID: Sports Physical Reminder
All forms are available upon logging in Valley's FamilyID page.
Thank You
We take this return to athletics and activities very seriously. The safety of our students, families, and staff will always be our first priority, and our district and school administrators, staff, and coaches have and continue to work tirelessly to ensure we have the appropriate plans in place at every facility for every team and activity.
Valley Athletics & Activities
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please contact your student's head coach or any of the following from Valley's Athletics & Activities Office:
515-633-4259
Nate Lingren
lingrenn@wdmcs.org
515-633-4249
Toni Wiemers
515-633-4264
Website: www.valleytigers.com
Location: Valley High School, Woodland Avenue, West Des Moines, IA, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valley.wdmcs/
Twitter: @vhstigers