UPDATED 3/13 – RCR Community Health Update: COVID-19
UPDATE: 3/13/20
As of right now, all RCR practices, scrimmages, games and skating activities are cancelled. This skating ban will be in effect through March, with the Staff and Board evaluating and updating membership by April 1st. Portland Public Schools closing was always a threshold of ours, so Gov. Brown’s directive to close all schools solidifies our feelings that, in the interest of safety for RCR members and our greater community, we must stop all activities.
UPDATE: 3/12/20
RCR leadership is committed to keeping our community safe, adhering to federal, state and local guidelines, while also keeping our league rolling. We are writing today to let you know some updates, plans, and strategies around the COVID-19 virus.
RCR leadership is committed to keeping our community safe, adhering to federal, state and local guidelines, while also keeping our league rolling. We are writing today to let you know some updates, plans, and strategies around the COVID-19 virus.
Given the recent 4-week ban on gatherings of 250+ people issued by Gov. Kate Brown and the number of people we see at the Hangar between practices, meetings, social events, and games, we are prepared to do our part to help prevent the spread of this virus. As such we have created a plan that extends through April and will be updated as we go.
In addition to what we have done and are are currently doing to keep our space safe and clean, along with asking sick folks to stay home, we are adding the following measures:
Communication
- We are creating an ongoing communication plan both for our membership and broader community. This will be updated as regularly as we have changes to report.
- April 9th is the end of the 4-week ban, and we will share more updates about our plan by that date at the latest.
Game Play
- 3/28-29 Bridge City Riot, our upcoming Juniors tournament, will be canceled, with hopes of rescheduling. We are currently looking at possible new dates.
- We are suspending any RCR Junior team travel until we see improvements in the situation, or a decline in the spread of the virus.
- Our April 3rd and 4th games will be postponed or cancelled – we are going to do our best to reschedule things in the order which they are cancelled, but games that don’t impact season ranking or are “just for fun,” types of games may not be rescheduled depending on how many dates we need to revise. We will let everyone know the our plans for the 4/17 and 4/18 games by 4/9 at the latest.
Practices
At this moment, practices and scrimmages are continuing with some internal modifications.
- Bleacher Protocol at our practices and scrimmages: we are reducing the number of bleachers available for team use at practices. Usage will be rotated, and we are requiring teams to wipe down the bleachers with a bleach-solution (per CDC guidelines) after each use.
- Adding buffers to practices – we are working to add buffers to practices, decreasing skater contact, and asking that members refrain from spending additional time at the Hangar before and after practices.
- Attendance – we have asked all teams and programs to be lenient regarding attendance and rostering requirements if attendance has been impacted by COVID-19.
Meetings
- All team, committee, board and staff meetings will be held via conference call unless an in-person meeting is absolutely necessary
Additionally, we know that some of our membership may end up facing hardship due to impacts on work and other community closures. Our league has scholarships available for both juniors and adults. While adult applications are typically taken annually, we are going to be open to hardship related scholarship requests in the coming months.
Some Helpful Tips to Remember:
- Wash your hands often and for at least 20 seconds. Even with cold water – per the Oregon Health Authority, the act of rubbing with soap is effective.
- Stay home if you or a family member do not feel 100% well.
- Sanitizer – we have many hand sanitizer stations set up around the Hangar. If you are at our venue, please make sure to utilize these.
Thank you for your part in us being responsible members of the global community,
RCR Staff and Board
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UPDATE: 3/04/20
We know that COVID-19 (coronavirus) is on a lot of folks minds, especially given the number of people we see at the Hangar between practices, meetings, social events, and games—and we want to be prepared to do our part to help prevent the spread of the virus.
Here are a few things we’re doing to help keep folks safe and healthy:
- Additional hand sanitizer/stations beyond what is at the toilets. Because there is not hot running water on site, we recommend you wash your hands extra before / after visiting the Hangar.
- We’re suspending the end-of-game high-five circle. We know this will be sad for fans, but we want to keep everyone as safe as possible.
- Our bleachers and seating are being wiped with bleach before and after all of the games to kill anything that might be on those surfaces.
- Track sanitation using manufacturer recommended products for germ eradication is happening.
- We will be following the recommendations of the CDC as outlined here: https://www.cdc.gov/
coronavirus/2019-ncov/index. html. We are watching the spread of the virus and trying to make smart choices to protect membership and the community.
Though it likely goes without saying, If you are sick, you feel sick, someone in your house has flu-like symptoms, please stay home. We stream Rose City Rollers games live, so you can still catch the action!
