April 25, 2021

Well, the season is upon us! Games will begin for our 10U and older teams on May 1.

Right now this is our team count:

Age Group	Birth Year	# Teams	Space on Roster?
10U Boys	2011-2012	4	7
10U Girls	2011-2012	1	no
12U Boys	2009-2010	1	no
12U Girls	2009-2010	1	no
14U Boys	2007-2008	1	1

So it looks like we can place 7 more 10U Boys and one more 14U Boy. If you want to get on those teams, sign up quickly. We place players on a first-come, first-served basis. We might give priority to players whose parents are certified and agree to referee for the team if a team is in need of referees.

 

Those Age Groups with "no" in the "Space on Roster?" column are at the maximum roster size for their teams. If you are in one of those age groups, you won't be placed until we have enough players on the wait-list to form a team and can find volunteers (coach, referees, team parent) on that team.

14U Girls have 5 on the wait-list. They play 11 vs 11 so you'll need a minimum of 6 more players to make a team. Maximum roster size is 15 players.

16U/19U Boys (birth year 2002-2006) have 2 on the wait-list. They play 11 vs 11 so you'll need a minimum of 9 more players to make a team. Maximum roster size is 18 players.

16U/19U Girls (birth year 2002-2006) have 4 on the wait-list. They play 11 vs 11 so you'll need a minimum of 7 more players to make a team. Maximum roster size is 18 players.

Our 8U and younger age groups will begin later in the Spring. Our 8U and younger programs require that a parent be at all games and practices. That is in conflict with the Department of Parks and Recreation requirement that there be no spectators at the Park. Because of that, we are unable to run those programs at this time. We're hoping that, if we delay 'til the end of May or early June, conditions will be better and we will be able to run those programs at that time.

If you want to play, get onto our wait-list and we will notify you as soon as we get the go ahead.

---

March 31, 2021

On March 8, the Governor approved the Mayor's modifications to the Tier 3 Reopening Stragegy. One of the changes allows outdoor organized sports to start up again. Youth sports programs like ours are able to start on April 12, 2021.

Since then we've been busily getting all of our paperwork done to begin our season and our Region Board has been getting together weekly to lay out our plans. It's been very difficult as there's really no constants we can rely on. We don't know exactly when we can start. We don't know whether or not we will have field permits. And, worst of all, we don't know if we'll be lucky enough to stay in Tier 3 or progress to Tier 4 in the City's Reopening Strategy. Yesterday's numbers (7-Day Average Daily Cases of 55 and Positivity Rate of 1.8%) would put us back in Tier 2!

The first thing we need to do is to get players and volunteers signed up for the season. Unfortunately, our registration system is undergoing an upgrade. It has been down since March 5 and is scheduled to be back up on April 5. So, we'd like players and parents to be ready to sign up as soon as our registration system goes back online. Keep watching our website and when registration is activated, get signed up as quickly as you can. Our hope is that we can "hit the ground running."

Other Regions are planning to start games in the last weekend of April. In order to get there, we need to get all of our Volunteers Registered, Trained, and Certified ASAP! Remember that our Volunteers are not allowed to even get on the field with the kids until they are properly Registered and Certified. If you know you're going to Volunteer and you already have a Login to AYSO U, you should get on and take the necessary training classes you require now.

The Plan

Our primary objective this season is to get kids playing again. We understand that many of our families may be under financial hardship so we're looking to minimize expenses to keep our program affordable. For example, we probably don't have time to order and distribute uniforms so we're planning on playing with practice vests to differentiate the teams. That should directly impact your Registration fees as the uniform is a large component of the fee. We're looking at other ways to reduce your fees.

Because of time and resource constraints, we won't be running things the way we normally do. If we don't have enough players, we'll look at options like playing smaller-sided games. It's almost a given that our 14U through 19U age groups will not have enough to play 11v11. We might have to go with 7v7 games on smaller fields. If we don't get as many field permits as we hope, then we'll have to double-up age groups on the same sized fields. So for example, we may have everyone playing on a 10U-sized field and scale down team sizes accordingly.

The City's permit requirements require that we do not have parents on the fields during practices and games. For the older age groups, that just means no spectators. For the younger age groups (i.e. 8U and younger) this poses a problem: those programs normally require a parent accompany the player. For 6U and 8U, parents provide assistance to the coaching staff in managing their player. Players at these ages tend to need a lot more parental support. For the VIP, Playground, and Schoolyard programs, parents actually participate in the training exercises! Because of this, we're thinking of pushing back our VIP and 8U and younger programs to be closer to Summer. Our hope is that the situation improves enough that the City will allow parents to accompany their kids on the field again.

What to do

• Watch our website at www.AYSOHonolulu.org
• If you already have an AYSO U login, login and take any certification courses you need. Try to get as much of your training requirements done.
• Get in touch with your Age Group Commissioner. Contact information is on the "Contact Us" tab on our website. If they know who to expect will be Registering, it will help them plan.
• As soon as Registration is open (around April 5), SIGN UP! The quicker that information is in the system, the quicker we can get teams out on the field.

From the Office of the Mayor, City and County of Honolulu
Emergency Order No. 2021-04
(COVID-19[Novel Coronavirus])
Outdoor Organized Sports

30. Outdoor organized sports. This section applies to outdoor sports such as baseball, soccer, football, volleyball, basketball, and similar outdoor sports seeking to reserve specific fields/courts for specific times (“Sports Program(s)”). Sports Programs may recommence outdoor practice and competitive play under the following requirements and conditions:
    1. Recommencement dates for youth and adult Sports Programs.
       1. Youth Sports Programs (for participants 18 years old and under) and collegiate Sports Programs within the City that are not already allowed to operate may recommence practice and competitive play on April 12, 2021 (provided any necessary permits are obtained).
       2. Adult Sports Programs (primarily for participants over 18 years old) may recommence practice and competitive play on April 19, 2021 (provided any necessary permits are obtained).
       3. No tournaments, regattas, or similar multi-team condensed time-frame competitions are allowed in Tier 3, except as otherwise allowed by the Order.
    2. Specific requirements/conditions
       1. Face coverings. Face coverings (as defined in the Order) must be worn by all participants and coaches/instructors/staff at all times, unless the sport being played or activity at issue can be conducted while maintaining at least six (6) feet of physical distancing from each person (e.g., strength/conditioning training). For aquatic sports, face coverings may also be removed prior to entry into the water.
       2. No spectators. There shall be no spectators, fans, or family on or in the vicinity of the field/court at issue. Only participants, coaches, instructors, and/or staff are allowed.
       3. No socializing. There shall be no socializing at the field/court at issue before or after the scheduled Sports Program activity.
       4. Implementing measures consistent with state and federal guidance. Sports Program operators must implement measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 that are consistent with the Hawai‘i Department of Health’s “Guidance and Considerations for Return to Youth Sports” as may be amended and all related guidance on sports (collectively “DOH Guidance”). Available at https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/tag/sports/. Furthermore, to the extent consistent with this section, and Hawai‘i Department of Health guidance, Sports Program operators and participants must also follow applicable guidance from the CDC (available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/businesses-employers.html). These measures include, but are not limited to the following:
          
          1. Physical distancing protocols and procedures for staff, athletes and non-program participants (including parents/guardians), with special consideration for the type of athletic activities engaged in, entrances and exits, queues, bottlenecks, facility layouts, and safe capacity limits.
          2. Regular screening of staff and participants for illness or exposure to COVID-19.
          3. Prohibiting socializing before or after the activity.
          4. Ensuring participants and staff who have COVID-19 do not attend Sport Program activities until they are cleared for release from isolation according to CDC guidelines and cleared to return by a healthcare provider.
          5. Ensuring any staff or participant exposed to a person with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 does not attend the program until they have completed quarantine following CDC guidelines.
          6. Evaluation of all program activities to identify and mitigate “high-risk” activities (shared equipment, incidental close contact, etc.) to reduce or prevent COVID-19 transmission.
          7. Limiting close contact. To the greatest extent reasonably practicable, physical distancing of at least six (6) feet between members of different households/living units should be maintained. For example, when not engaged in competitive team play or training that requires close contact, close contact should be reduced or eliminated to the extent possible (e.g., sitting close to teammates on a bench, standing close to teammates or opponents during downtime). Huddles, high fives, and handshakes and similarly unnecessary close contact activities should be eliminated.
       5. Competitive play. Sports Program activities may include competitive team play (e.g., one baseball team against another, or one soccer team against another, etc.) or practice/training. This is an exception to the general rule on gatherings contained in Order 3 of the Order. Competitive play is limited to two Sports Program teams on an outdoor field, court, etc. at a time. Where other competitive play/games are scheduled on the same field, court, etc., Sports Program operators must implement measures to ensure that teams waiting to play maintain six (6) feet of physical distance from the other teams playing at all times (i.e., no mingling between teams/groups).
       6. Individuals must comply with any lawful requirements imposed by the Sports Program operator.
    3. City permits
       1. Any league, club, or group that desires to reserve a specific location and time for an outdoor athletic activity allowed under this section at any City facility under the control of the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation (“DPR”) must apply for and obtain a permit from DPR. DPR will begin fielding requests for field/court use either informally (via availability discussions) or formally (via permit applications) upon execution of the Order.
       2. Permit applications. To obtain a DPR permit, Sports Program operators must agree to comply with all requirements of this section and any further requirements imposed by DPR, which shall be consistent with DOH Guidance. Furthermore, Sports Program operators must submit all documentation requested by DPR to obtain a permit. DPR permit information/forms are available at: http://bit.ly/COVIDpermits. DPR may waive permit fees to facilitate processing of permits under this section. Any permits issued under this section shall be null and void in the event City or State emergency orders or proclamations (or other law) related to the COVID-19 emergency prohibit activities allowed under this section.
       3. Compliance/enforcement. Permit holders are responsible for ensuring compliance with the terms of the DPR permit granted. Failure to comply with permit conditions by the same group/team within a two-week period shall result in the following progressive actions:
          
          1. First violation = written warning.
          2. Second violation = second written warning.
          3. Third violation = one (1) day suspension of field/court use under the permit.
          4. Fourth violation = one (1) week suspension of field/court use under the permit.
          5. Fifth violation = revocation of field/court use under the permit.
          There shall be no right to appeal suspension or revocation of permits issued under this section.
    4. Nothing in this section requires a public or private Sports Program or field/court to open.