Gyms and COVID precautions

[gtu07]

I know in some settings that covid precautions are somewhat standardized. Like in college gymnastics, the expectation is that gymnasts will wear masks when they are not actively competing on an event and teams are frequently tested. I believe most high school gymnastics in the US are also expected to wear masks sometimes all the time (Massachusetts) or when not competing on an event (most other states.)

But, it looks like things in the world of club gymnastics are not really standardized much like other private sports leagues in the US. I know of at least one club gymnast whose videos I have had to stop watching because the lack of masks combined with the lack of social distancing between gymnasts is crazy. I would think they would be surprised to let this get filmed both by the gymnast and the film crew, but I guess if they aren’t violating state regulations, they just don’t care.

On the flip side, I also know that at least a couple of gyms have everybody wear masks all the time even when doing gymnastics.
What I find interesting is, why has USAG not issued Covid guidelines and precautions to protect gymnasts and coaches? Is it just too difficult to enforce given different state regulations?

 

[Bogwoppit]

Gyms are still closed in Quebec, no indication of when they will reopen. I think of the last 12 months they have been closed for about 8 months.

 

[RedBirdie]

USAG issued “considerations” for re-opening: https://usagym.org/PDFs/About USA Gymnastics/covid/safereopening.pdf

They have a whole COVID resource page: https://usagym.org/pages/aboutus/pages/coronavirus.html

I think there’s very little they can do, honestly. Each state (heck, each city/town/county/parish/whatever) can set their own guidelines–or lack thereof. USAG cannot say “you must do X, Y, and Z” when states are saying “no restrictions!” Well, they can say that, but there’s not really any way for them to enforce it; if they mandate face masks and threaten to pull member club status from club that don’t, I can easily see how this gets taken to court. And it’s just not worth the hassle.

 

[cats]

I have a hard time seeing USAG having the expertise for this. I don’t think anyone knows how respiratory droplets disperse when someone is doing giants or Yurchenko timers, or what happens if someone lands face first on a pit pillow that someone with COVID breathed on, or even whether it’s net safer to do a bars routine with a mask on to reduce transmission risk or take it off to improve visibility.

I mean, they are the org you’d look to for this, but it seems like it would be hard to even get someone to research this stuff given the vast expanse of things that need researching. I know the company I work for had a haaaaard time finding an expert adviser, and we don’t even need specialized information like gymnastics does.

 

[gtu07]

Right. It definitely comes down to more technical information when you consider skills etc. But I was just so surprised that in the video I linked to they still had kids lining up shoulder to shoulder or SITTING and watching someone else do a floor routine. I would think it’s really not too much hassle to avoid lining up shoulder to shoulder or to wear a mask when not doing skills. They also have everyone warming up on the floor and doing other cardio conditioning right next to each other. (These are things that can definitely be done with a mask because I know all high school sports in MA require masks and on the men’s side I have definitely seen Mikulak warm up with a mask when in the gym.) The way they are going about it looks like each kid has a ton of close contacts.