Vermont is allowing school and recreational youth sports teams to start playing games again next Friday, but spectators won’t be allowed, state officials announced Friday.
The sports include basketball, hockey, volleyball, indoor soccer and football and broom ball, said Julie Moore, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, at the governor’s twice-weekly coronavirus briefing.
“As has been the case throughout the pandemic, things will look different this winter,” she said.
Indoor sports teams that involve close proximity or moderate contact will be restricted to two games per seven days and a minimum of three days between competitions, Moore said.
Players, staff, referees and officials must wear masks. The state did not see any evidence of virus exposure amid teams from Dec. 26, 2020, when no-contact winter sports practices started up, until mid-January, she said.
Teams are encouraged to find ways to allow for remote viewing, such as live-streaming games, Moore said. The updated guidance will be available on the state’s website by the end of Monday, she said.
