In preparation for the upcoming 2021 season, MLQ is continuing to roll out our COVID-19 policies in the MLQ Return to Play Guidelines. With this new update comes the following additional policies:

• Travel and Housing Policies
  • Includes: provisions for carpooling and sharing vehicles and travel provisions for housing while at series
• Practice Guidelines
  • Includes: more information on what additional precautions will need to be taken during practices and recommended policies for keeping all MLQ practices COVID-safe
• Tier-Based Drill Manual
  • Includes: a list of example drills that can be run at various tiers so that teams can better plan practices and understand what is and is not possible at various tiers
• Contact Tracing Protocols
  • Includes: policies for what will occur if a athlete, franchise staff member, official or volunteer tests positive for COVID-19, for both themselves and anybody they may have come in contact with while contagious

Additionally, we are adding an update to our tier policy. Under our previous tier policy, a team being fully vaccinated gave that team a one-tier boost. However, with this update, a fully vaccinated team will be boosted three tiers. We felt comfortable making this improvement after recent data from CDC has shown that the new mRNA vaccines are not only highly effective at preventing adverse outcomes from COVID-19, but also highly effective at preventing the spread of the disease. This means that a fully-vaccinated team will be able to have full team practices, regardless of the case rates in their area. If their case rates meet the criteria for tier 2 (<15 daily cases/100k, <10% positivity rate, <1.5 infection rate), a fully-vaccinated team will be able to engage in travel, competition and full-contact practices.

Because of this update, and the fact that even with robust vaccine rollout, case rates in certain areas have remained at high plateaus, we believe that a successful MLQ season will not be possible unless we see high rates of vaccination among our league. We strongly encourage all potential players to start their vaccine regimen as soon as absolutely possible, so that by the time they are fully vaccinated (at least five weeks after the beginning of the Pfizer vaccine regimen and at least six weeks after the beginning of the Moderna vaccine regimen), their teams will be able to resume more normal practicing and competition schedules. As a reminder, a team will not make the vaccine boost until every player on their main roster is fully vaccinated. As such, even one player being unvaccinated could hold a team back from holding full team practices.

Officials and Volunteers Policy
In order for an official or volunteer to participate in an MLQ event, they must meet the level of tier that that event is occurring in. If they are not vaccinated, this means they must be travelling from an area that meets Tier 5 requirements. If they are fully vaccinated, they must be travelling from an area that meets Tier 2 requirements or higher.
Questions, comments or concerns in relation to the MLQ Return to Play Guidelines can be directed to the MLQ Covid-19 Task Force at [email protected].