Return to Competition 2020 Guidelines

Guiding Principles for event organizers

Download a PDF version here.

Event organizers shall ensure that adequate measures are in place to protect the health of all participants and ensure that they have access to immediate medical care as necessary.

Local competitions with participants from the same geographical locations or regions are preferred so that the need for overnight stays and/or air travel is minimized or eliminated.

Intra-club competitions with athletes that already have close contact with each other are encouraged.

New competition formats to keep local competition interesting should be explored.

Cross province and cross border racing at the FIS and NorAm levels will be pursued if deemed appropriate based on current recommendations/guidelines set out by federal, provincial and local government health authorities.

Current information related to COVID-19 can be found on the Alberta Heath Service website at https://www.alberta.ca/covid-19-information.aspx

Field of play set-up, services, and accommodation

The following are a set of considerations for race organizing committees, event hosts, course conductors, and the alike.

New ROC Position – COVID-19 Coordinator

  • New position to be added to each ROC to ensure compliance with Alberta Health Services and Federal Government Health Authority Guidelines are adhered to during the event.
  • Assigned to liaise with health officials, monitor and follow up on required symptom checks and attestation forms, maintain a record of contact information for all participant, create a notification system in the event of a positive test, develop backup staffing and volunteer plans.
  • The ROC in conjunction with the COVID-19 Coordinator must implement and make readily available the isolation plan should a volunteer fall ill
  • This individual will work closely with the event partners to develop a COVID-19 mitigation plan to satisfy insurance and sanctioning purposes.
  • Tracking information
    • All on-site participants, including but not limited to athletes, coaches, volunteers, officials, complete a daily screening questionnaire. For added protection, these should be digitally collected and maintained by the COVID-19 Coordinator
  • Contact information for the COVID-19 Coordinator is made available on the race notice and event website in the event of a positive test

Communication

It is crucial that all provisions in place are communicated clearly to all participants in advance of the event.

Every organizer is required to compile a COVID-19 mitigation plan summarizing the preventative measures in accordance with Alberta Heath Services. The COVID-19 Coordinator should lead this element of the planning process.

  • Creation of Illness/ Attestation screening document prior to competition 
    • Must be made available online and tracked daily
  • Should a participant fall ill during or within 48 hrs of a competition, proper notification should be provided to all event attendees through the COVID-19 Coordinator
  • Meetings should be held via virtual platforms in the lead up to an event
  • All event communication should be available in a digital form when possible
  • Include the Resorts COVID-19 Protocol information which will help visiting teams

Race entry/ Lift Ticket

  • Online registration is used exclusively including payment processing for entry fees o
    • If online registration is not possible event organizers must implement safeguard measures to ensure physical distancing is maintained.
  • Lift ticket purchases and distribution to follow resort partner guidelines

On-site Meetings

  • Keep meetings as short as possible
  • Training and meetings for coaches, team captains, volunteers and event staff should be done virtually whenever possible.
  • Meetings that might be difficult virtually, e.g., jury meetings, protests, should be done with physical distancing and outside wherever possible.
  • Bib draws will should be done virtually where possible
  • All documentation should be made available digitally when possible
  • Distribution of paper materials should be made available in a distanced manner
  • Proper signage and sanitization facilities should be made available

Volunteers

  • People in higher-risk categories, such as older adults and people with underlying health conditions, or those living with or having consistent contact with those populations, should not participate in any capacity or do so in a very limited capacity and with strict controls.
  • Accommodation may only be made available to key ROC members. Accommodation must comply with current accommodation/cohort rules within the province and AHS.
    • Meals 
      • All meals must respect health authority and safety guidelines
      • Gatherings are not recommended at this time
      • All meals should be pre-packaged (lunch)
    • Volunteer center 
      • Local physical distancing and capacity rules should always be adhered
      • Meetings must follow physical distancing rules or be held online when possible
      • Volunteers should arrive on site ready to go on hill with no expectations to leave gear in the volunteer center
      • Proper signage and sanitization should be made available
      • Local physical distancing and capacity rules should always be adhered
      • Limited to race administrator and required personnel only
      • Remote options should be explored when possible (start lists, analyses, results, etc.)
      • Proper signage and sanitization should be made available
      • Local physical distancing and capacity rules should always be adhered
      • Limited to timing crew and required personnel only
      • Proper signage and sanitization should be made available

Race Office

  • Local physical distancing and capacity rules should always be adhered
  • Limited to race administrator and required personnel only
  • Remote options should be explored when possible (start lists, analyses, results, etc.)
  • Proper signage and sanitization should be made available

Timing Office

  • Local physical distancing and capacity rules should always be adhered
  • Limited to timing crew and required personnel only
  • Proper signage and sanitization should be made available

Equipment

  • Once a bib has been allocated the ROC should make the best attempt to ensure bibs remain allocated to the same individual for the race series.
  • Coaches should be allocated a time to collect their team bibs from a designated area
  • Equipment used by volunteers (rakes, radio’s, drills etc.) should be assigned to the volunteer for the entire race series
  • Installation, repairs and removal of equipment should be handled in a safe manner utilizing PPE to mitigate risk when possible (i.e., B-net, air fence, gates, etc.)
  • Sharing of equipment should be avoided unless sanitization measures are in place to mitigate risk 
    • ex) gate judge packages should be set with supplies for the entire duration of the event and only restocked when necessary

Equipment preparation areas

  • Establish limit for number of persons inside wax cabins
  • Establish limit entry to dedicated preparation zones per team (particularly start area)
  • Consider additional space for wax facilities to allow for proper distancing

On-Hill / Field of Play

  • Close contact between participants from different clubs and organizations should be prohibited or eliminated as appropriate.
  • Physical distancing should always be maintained
  • Specific consideration should be given to particularly high traffic areas including start tent, start area, corrals, coaches’ corners and areas of high coach/official/volunteer traffic on the competition slope, the finish corral, finish area.
  • Non-essential visitors, spectators, and volunteers should be limited or prohibited.
  • Person-to-person transfer of competition equipment (bibs, drills, rakes etc.) should be prohibited or limited. All bibs should be cleaned or disinfected prior to re-allocation.
  • Lift accessibility to be determined by the host resort
  • The ROC should consider staggered entrances for teams to allow for physical distancing and minimize chances of close contact before, during, and exiting inspection
  • Start area 
    • The start area marshal should be placed at the entrance to manage numbers
    • Proper signage should be visible when needed
    • Yelling and cheering should be eliminated
    • Considerations for start area spacing (volunteers, coaches, athletes, tuning, warming tents, etc.)
  • Finish area
    • The finish area marshal should be placed in the finish to control numbers in the area
    • Lingering in finishing areas should be prohibited; athletes should exit the finish corral upon completion of inspection/competition
    • Race results should be used online only
    • Proper signage should be visible when needed
    • Bibs should only be returned on the final day of competition

Resort Protocols

  • Participants should arrive at the venue ready to compete or train.
  • Common facilities such as changing rooms, lodges, and common spaces should follow resort guidelines
  • Sharing of food, water, and other items should not be permitted
  • Participants should have Personal Protective Equipment: face coverings, gloves, hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes and soap, on their person
  • Warm-up activities should always be performed outside or in a well-ventilated indoor space maintaining physical distancing
  • Unnecessary use of indoor spaces should be avoided
  • ROC’s should consult with their resort partner to ensure proper mitigation practices
  • Follow all Resort Covid-19 Protocols

Awards

  • Award ceremonies should not take place for U12 and under.
  • Award ceremonies for U14 and up should follow these protocols. o
    • When possible, award ceremonies should be done virtually or be significantly modified by limiting spectators and coaches to ensure physical distancing.
    • When possible, awards should be announced at the end of a series vs. daily
    • Physical distancing should be adhered for podium finishers, 2 meters apart.
    • Prizes and medals are to be handed out wearing gloves and face coverings.
    • Awards must be done in an outside area and physical distancing be maintained.
    • ROC’s should provide teams with details on award ceremony attendance

Post-Competition Considerations

Equipment Manager shall ensure shared materials (bibs, radio’s, drills, etc.) that are not owned by the hosting entity are sanitized prior to shipment to next event/destination.

Tear Down

  • ROC should allocate tear down based on cohort groups to minimize interactions
  • Clearly identified drop off zones for equipment should be identified o
    • Clear entrance/exit