In an effort to better mitigate the risks posed by the spread of the Delta Variant of COVID-19, the following policies will be in place at the 2021 MLQ Championship in Howard County, Md.
VACCINATION POLICY
Per policies announced earlier this season, all players, franchise staff, officials, volunteers, MLQ staff and vendors will need to be fully vaccinated to attend MLQ Championship (including Monday’s Take Back the Pitch). Proof of vaccination should be submitted via the MLQ Vaccination Documentation Form on our website. Vendors may submit proof of vaccination using the MLQ Vaccination Documentation Form, as well, or by showing MLQ Championship Vendor Coordinator Claire Tylke their card on-site.
Spectators are strongly encouraged to stay home if they are not fully vaccinated, but their vaccination status will not be checked at the gate.
INDOOR MASK REQUIREMENT
All players, franchise staff, officials, volunteers and MLQ staff will be required to wear a mask that covers their mouth and nose while indoors at any location from Friday evening to Monday afternoon while attending the MLQ Championship and Take Back the Pitch. This will include hotel hallways, lobbies, restaurants, on-site bathrooms and any other areas where teams may be congregating. This does not include personal vehicles, hotel rooms or moments when that individual is eating, drinking or serving as a commentator in the enclosed MLQ press box. MLQ press boxes will have strictly limited entry.
More information on CDC masking recommendations can be found here.
ON-SITE MASK POLICY
At the site of the 2021 MLQ Championship, there will be multiple areas where mask use is required by all players, team staff, officials, volunteers, MLQ staff and spectators. These will include any areas where individuals may congregate in off-pitch activities and include: volunteer tents, player rest areas, restrooms, officially-designated spectator areas and vending areas. Signs will be posted in these areas indicating where mask usage is required at all times. Mask usage will not be required on-pitch by players, officials, and franchise staff, however, should any official need to enter the score table tent, they should wear a mask to do so. All athletes and franchise staff should not enter the score table areas during the event. Commentators who are actively calling games will not be required to mask, but press boxes where this occurs will not be open to anyone outside the MLQ Digital Media team and their volunteers.
TESTING
Staying in line with previously announced protocols, any players and franchise staff who are traveling from Tier 1 areas (see MLQ tier listing here) must take a COVID-19 test on Thursday, Aug. 19; Friday, Aug. 20 or Saturday, Aug. 21 before the time at which their team is first scheduled to compete and must receive and report a negative result before entering Troy Park. If an individual has not received their test result by one hour before they are scheduled to compete, they should be prepared to take an at-home rapid test such as a BinaxNow or QuickVue.
For the purpose of these tests, only one negative swab is needed to compete. Those results should be communicated to and tracked by the given franchise’s manager. If an individual tests positive, they will need to be reported to the MLQ COVID Task Force ([email protected]) and will not be allowed to attend the 2021 MLQ Championship. If need be, they may be replaced by another member of their franchise per our 2021 MLQ Championship Roster Policy. If a head coach tests positive, the franchise will need to inform MLQ ASAP of who the replacement head coach will be. They can do so by Slacking Commissioner Amanda Dallas and Gameplay Director Raghu Achukola or emailing [email protected] and [email protected].
Any individual attending MLQ Championship who has a known exposure to someone with COVID-19 in the last five days will need to take an at-home rapid test swab no more than one hour before the event and show a negative result each day they are attending events at Troy Park. Any individual who has a known COVID-19 exposure within 5-14 days prior to the event should receive a PCR test on the fifth day or later following that exposure. If the results of that PCR test have not been received, that individual will need to engage in at-home rapid testing each day before attending on-site events at Troy Park until they receive their PCR results.
If an individual has a known case of COVID-19 that has begun in the last 10 days, or began prior to that but are seeing continuing symptoms, or has a known exposure to an individual with COVID-19 and is seeing symptoms, they will not be allowed to attend the 2021 MLQ Championship (including Monday’s Take Back the Pitch). These testing policies do not apply to individuals who have had a confirmed case of COVID-19 in the last 90 days and are outside their 10-day isolation period.
AFTER PARTY CANCELLATION
MLQ will not be hosting an official afterparty in Howard County. We feel such an event would pose too great a risk and bring too many people together in an enclosed space where mask usage would be unenforceable. Instead, we encourage teams to make individual plans for socializing within their own franchise units after the event should they want. MLQ has partnered with local restaurants that have both indoor and outdoor seating available and are happy to set advanced reservations with extended kitchen time in order to host MLQ franchises. Contact [email protected] if you would like to take advantage of this opportunity.
Questions, comments or concerns related to these updated guidelines and policies can be directed to [email protected].