How Returning to Sports Has Impacted Teams

As the COVID-19 pandemic is starting to allow places to open up, many places and activities are starting to open up. One of these things is sports, which were heavily impacted by the pandemic. Teams were unable to meet up and practice, couldn’t play games against other teams, and it was no longer able to be televised. This event affected the Olympics, causing it to be delayed from 2020 to 2021. Now that things are starting to open up, many teams have changed to be able to continue playing. 

Most sports players now wear masks when playing and practicing both at school and professionally. Spectators and coaches usually are required to wear a mask. Sometimes when the game starts, players will not wear masks due to the intensity of the activity, which can affect their ability to breathe. In addition to the masks, all equipment is sanitized before and after playing. Soap and water are supposed to be available, however if it is unable to be placed, hand sanitizer is readily available instead. 

Players equipment is usually assigned to a specific person and separated to prevent contamination. On top of all the specific equipment being sanitized, shared items are supposed to be kept to a minimum. Players’ locker room time is advised to be kept to a minimum, as it is a shared space where players can be close to each other. Spectators are also advised to sit away from each other and far away from the players. 

Spectators have been able recently to physically attend games, however they also have to comply with many safety precautions. They all must wear masks and try their best to engage in social distancing. Lots of hand sanitizer stations are placed around the vicinity and people are advised to not share items. Often stadiums will limit capacity to prevent lots of crowds gathering. After fans have not been able to attend events in person for so long, once again opening these events has had lots of entrants. However, stadiums are often not filled due to these limitations, seen by the amount of empty seats. 

After a long time as sports were unable to be played, lots of fans and players are enthusiastic to get back to watching and playing. Many have been patient, and there's still a long way to go. But they are still able to enjoy the game as long as they follow the safety precautions.