All-Star Covid-19 / Varsity Response

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Right, because of the risks of becoming more faint and breathing in more CO2.

ETA: previously if someone was sick but not throwing up they could wear a paper mask and practice. Of course now like someone else said if you have any tiny sign of illness stay away, but I'm not sure why they're not allowing the paper masks, or if those masks even do anything. But with the cloth masks and filtered masks, I can see it. I can barely handle wearing one walking through the grocery store.

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That’s not a thing. My gym used to have kids wearing surgical masks when they were sick at practice long before Covid ever happened.

If the paper masks you’re talking about are the disposable surgical masks they’re actually better than cloth masks.

These? Disposable Surgical Face Mask. ASTM Level 1, Yellow (Qty. 50) | Med Lab Supply

Edit: gyms having kids practice without masks is stupidly dangerous. Temperature checks and hand sanitizer are pointless if everyone is stunting less than a foot away from each other with no mask.
 
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That’s not a thing. My gym used to have kids wearing surgical masks when they were sick at practice long before Covid ever happened.

If the paper masks you’re talking about are the disposable surgical masks they’re actually better than cloth masks.

These? Disposable Surgical Face Mask. ASTM Level 1, Yellow (Qty. 50) | Med Lab Supply

Edit: gyms having kids practice without masks is stupidly dangerous. Temperature checks and hand sanitizer are pointless if everyone is stunting less than a foot away from each other with no mask.
I mean I've seen from multiple sources that exercising with one on is dangerous. They are 6 feet apart, not stunting at this time. The coaches all wear masks. Obviously kids could pass it on to coaches while stunting or spotting but they are keeping the kids separate from each other as best as they can when they're in their care.

We're also not as big or in as a populous area as WE, and Texas has had ten times the number of cases as Oklahoma.

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I keep seeing gyms (Looking at you Woodlands) where there’s 4 floors full of kids and not one of them has a mask on.

I’m glad to see the cheer industry is taking this seriously.


This is partially why I asked the question.

It varies so much by state.

I see some that are clearly still virtual practicing, some that are are really only doing small groups of people in the gym at a time (e.g. privates or your very small tryout group), some are doing everything but requiring masks be worn, and some who appear to have resumed business as it was pre-COVID.

I try to remind myself that social media isn't always an accurate pic of every precaution a gym is taking.

That, and unfortunately, they have to balance keeping people safe with keeping doors open and being able to feed their families/pay employees.
 
I mean I've seen from multiple sources that exercising with one on is dangerous. They are 6 feet apart, not stunting at this time. The coaches all wear masks. Obviously kids could pass it on to coaches while stunting or spotting but they are keeping the kids separate from each other as best as they can when they're in their care.

We're also not as big or in as a populous area as WE, and Texas has had ten times the number of cases as Oklahoma.

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Can you share those sources? Because wearing surgical masks when practicing sick has been pretty common at many gyms for years now.
 
Can you share those sources? Because wearing surgical masks when practicing sick has been pretty common at many gyms for years now.
This one mentions becoming fatigued faster, getting dizzy or lightheaded, training being more difficult especially after having not exercised for a while.
How to exercise with a face mask -- and what not to do - CNET

Mentions some of the same things, also masks becoming wet from sweat and being less effective, and younger kids not knowing when their body is telling them to stop from the restricted airflow.
Is It Safe for My Family to Exercise with Face Masks? | Parents

I've seen a lot of things pop up on Facebook and don't have links for them. I know those posts are not always reliable.

There are the stories of the two boys in the second link and the 26yo in China whose lung collapsed after consistently running with a mask over a two week period, although these stories may be anecdotal.

There are also the considerations that previously wearing a surgical mask the athlete was probably not practicing full out, and these kids are going to be adjusting their masks all practice which defeats the purpose.

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Coming from Arizona, which basically opened fully back up with no restrictions (and is now facing the worst spike in the nation as a result, whoo hoo), we are pretty much back to normal. There are some changes - when entering the gym you have to get temperature checked and use hand sanitizer, the water fountain has been shut completely off so no using it or refilling water bottles, and nobody is allowed in the waiting room - but we are already stunting, tumbling, etc. very similar to how practices would normally be run, because our state gave the ok for literally everything to open back up. I forsee AZ tightening up once again soon though because of the huge spike.

Speaking from a school cheer position, though, things could not be anymore different than during a regular season. We start practices on this upcoming Monday the 15th, we have to have the practices in the gym with no mats (20 kids max, all 6 feet apart), parents and athletes had to sign waivers, and no equipment can be used until we get to 'Phase 2', whenever that is. So no stunting, tumbling, or anything except conditioning while separated is allowed, so guess my team is gonna have good jumps this year since that's all we can really work? Eh. Definitely different than what I'm going through with Allstar.
Same here but the opposite. All star is more cautious. No stunting, nothing hands on, SD, waivers, they do tumble on assigned mat.

School cheer has not received go ahead for this month but expects to in July. Coach says we will hit ground running & expects everything. Stunts, tumbling, camp, (with 5 to a room) full practices. No caution at all even though we aren’t sure if they will allow attendance of games in the fall. ‍♀️
 
This one mentions becoming fatigued faster, getting dizzy or lightheaded, training being more difficult especially after having not exercised for a while.
How to exercise with a face mask -- and what not to do - CNET

Mentions some of the same things, also masks becoming wet from sweat and being less effective, and younger kids not knowing when their body is telling them to stop from the restricted airflow.
Is It Safe for My Family to Exercise with Face Masks? | Parents

I've seen a lot of things pop up on Facebook and don't have links for them. I know those posts are not always reliable.

There are the stories of the two boys in the second link and the 26yo in China whose lung collapsed after consistently running with a mask over a two week period, although these stories may be anecdotal.

There are also the considerations that previously wearing a surgical mask the athlete was probably not practicing full out, and these kids are going to be adjusting their masks all practice which defeats the purpose.

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Yeah. Whole practices with masks seem difficult. However for stunting I think it could be a good idea when that starts, since that’s when the kids are closest together.
 
Yeah. Whole practices with masks seem difficult. However for stunting I think it could be a good idea when that starts, since that’s when the kids are closest together.
I can agree with that, I would be on board with CP wearing a mask during stunting. Idk what their plan is because they're not bringing up stunting yet. I get this whole thing is a sensitive issue and I believe Andy is a medical professional in a hard hit area? But CP's gym is doing the best they can to protect families, keep their staff paid and fed, and help athletes' mental health. Everything in every area of our lives is a balancing act between those three things right now.

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I keep seeing gyms (Looking at you Woodlands) where there’s 4 floors full of kids and not one of them has a mask on.

I’m glad to see the cheer industry is taking this seriously.
It is unfair to say that someone who has done research, knows the virus isn't magically disappearing soon if ever, and feels building immunity to a virus that only affects a very small percentage of the population critically isn't taking anything seriously.
 
Ontario is still shut down, cheer gyms aren't even allowed to begin to open yet. The fact that there are full gyms of athletes with absolutely no precautions in the states blows my mind
Fitness centers/Gyms/contact youth sports are not allowed to open in NJ yet, there is not even guidance as to when they can open. But childcare centers are opening as are summer camps so I am not sure where cheer stands! The governor here is very very cautious, and I don't see stunting or contact sports being "permissible" until a vaccine. I really don't. :(
 
The majority of the Houston and surrounding area gyms are already stunting. It definitely is not just WE.
 
My gym makes decision Monday if we can start to stunt, I'm in the NC/SC area. Some gyms in sc have started to stunt though. I'm hoping they say go ahead, but if they don't, they said we will start to stunt early to mid-july. That's in the gym however, many of us have got together and stunted other places lol.
 
Coming from Arizona, which basically opened fully back up with no restrictions (and is now facing the worst spike in the nation as a result, whoo hoo), we are pretty much back to normal. There are some changes - when entering the gym you have to get temperature checked and use hand sanitizer, the water fountain has been shut completely off so no using it or refilling water bottles, and nobody is allowed in the waiting room - but we are already stunting, tumbling, etc. very similar to how practices would normally be run, because our state gave the ok for literally everything to open back up. I forsee AZ tightening up once again soon though because of the huge spike.

Speaking from a school cheer position, though, things could not be anymore different than during a regular season. We start practices on this upcoming Monday the 15th, we have to have the practices in the gym with no mats (20 kids max, all 6 feet apart), parents and athletes had to sign waivers, and no equipment can be used until we get to 'Phase 2', whenever that is. So no stunting, tumbling, or anything except conditioning while separated is allowed, so guess my team is gonna have good jumps this year since that's all we can really work? Eh. Definitely different than what I'm going through with Allstar.
How can u say having the highest spike in numbers....but back to normal? Shouldn’t a gym owner put the brakes on stunting for now?
 
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My husband and I were shopping for patio furniture and I was maybe walking around for 25 min in a warmer climate and had to go sit in the car with the AC blasting. My mask made me light headed, fatigued and gave me a pounding headache. I only felt better after an hour of having the mask off.... I have no idea how kids are going to practice with masks outdoors doing anything remotely high impact. We are scheduled to return to play (unrestricted) July 27th which I think is a realistic return date but I can’t say that we won’t be taking additional precautions for at least the first few weeks of practice. The All Star program I work for is taking their time as well which I’m totally behind. I know every state/area is a different situation but worried about what EXACTLY IS the RIGHT thing to do...how much is too much precaution? What if I’m not doing enough to protect my kids. Curious what all your thoughts are on how things will look late July based on your location.
 
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