Contributed by Jennifer Cruz
Due to current COVID-19 new and continuing case rates, Boom Town Roller Derby is unable to continue practices as scheduled in September. The Board of Directors have decided to push back the start date of the season to the first week of October. We apologize for the inconvenience, and we are glad our members, volunteers, fans and members of the community are all staying safe.
According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the State of Alaska does not have restrictions for large groups, but offers guiding principles to keep in mind while planning events with a larger number of people in attendance. The size (attendance) of an event or gathering should be determined based on state, local, territorial or tribal safety laws and regulations. The more people an individual interacts with at a gathering and the longer that interaction lasts, the higher the individual’s potential risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 and then spreading COVID-19 to others. The higher the level of community transmission in the area where the gathering is held, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spreading at the gathering.
Currently, Boom Town Roller Derby has over 40 members, and practices normally are 2 hours at a time. On Sundays, members have an option to stay for two practice intervals, extending time to almost 4 hours of interaction.
Boom Town is a ranked member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA), which has set Return to Roller Derby guidelines and standards based upon the geographic area in which their members participate. Although our WFTDA guidelines may be more restrictive than many national, state, or city recommendations, they are not meant to take the place of any local or federal government guidelines that may ask you to prohibit game play altogether. In these instances, the WFTDA recommends strict compliance with regional restrictions and orders you may be subject to, as safety is our primary concern.
The WFTDA has set guidelines in order to slowly return to roller derby activity in a tiered format based on:
• Non-contact to full-contact
• League activity only to local to regional to global competition;
• Small group participation to multi-team events;
• No audiences to small audiences to large events.
Each tier should be completed for at least 14 days before a promotion is assessed.
Currently, the WFTDA requirement for return to play is no more than 50 new cases per 100k people in the last 14 days to set Baseline practice (no contact and maintain 6-foot distance). Neither Anchorage nor the Mat-Su Valley qualify (752 and 111 new cases respectively).
While we agree that some leagues in the world may be ready to attempt a return, exposing participants and fans to potential risk of infection for the benefit of our sport is not acceptable. However, many members have stayed engaged through other means, watching prior games online, taking trail skates together, and taking full advantage of the Alaskan summer with hiking excursions and maintaining their fitness outdoors.
As we continue watching numbers and assessing ability to return to practice, please keep an eye on our social media for updates and information regarding future events such as recruiting, games, and fundraising activities. Season 10 isn’t cancelled. It’s just on pause as we eagerly await safely returning to play.
