Best Practices for Hosting a Physical Camp during a Pandemic
The last post detailed when it is acceptable to host a physical camp in accordance with expert health guidance.
This post applies that guidance to the daily operations of a camp. We’re providing it here because we want everyone to be safe. We strongly encourage every organization hosting a physical camp to follow these practices.
Room Arrangement
Keep high-traffic areas clear
A six-foot area will be marked on both sides of major doors. Stopping will not be permitted within that radius.
Family seating
Families will be seated together at tables that are six feet apart.
Forward-facing seating
Tables will all face forward, instead of the roundtable/auditorium arrangements we normally prefer.
Path to tables
Families must be able to walk from the door to their table without coming within 6 feet of another table.
Hygiene
Hand Washing 3x a day
All attendees will be required to wash their hands at the beginning, lunch break, and end of each camp day. Of course, these are bare minimums.
Sanitizer on each table
A bottle of hand sanitizer will be placed on each table and provided to the coaches.
Face coverings
Attendees will be required to wear face coverings. Exceptions will be made for very young children.
No sharing
Attendees will not share any physical items (food, pens, etc) with each other.
Social Distancing
Distanced during breaks
Instead of the mingling that we prefer in a non-pandemic scenario, attendees will maintain social distancing during breaks.
Separate coach lodging
We love staying with families, but that means breaking quarantines. For now, coaches must be hosted in hotels or guest houses (or their own homes, if possible), separate from families and each other.
Enforcing the Rules
Signs and orientation
Signs will be posted and an orientation will be held at the start of the camp to ensure all attendees know what is expected of them.
No negotiation
Attendees may not ignore these rules – if they think they are overkill, or they are “willing to risk it”, or they don’t feel sick, or for any other reason.
1-warning enforcement
Attendees who violate these safety rules will be given one warning. On the second offense, they will be banned from camp without appeal.
Is that strict? Yes. It’s because we’re serious about the health of this community. We do not gamble with the lives of debate families, and we will not tolerate anyone else doing so.
Stop if someone gets sick
If a coach or attendee shows COVID-like symptoms, the camp will stop immediately.
We Know This is Annoying.
Again, we wish we could just pretend COVID-19 wasn’t happening. But cutting corners kills people. It is unethical to disregard the guidance of health officials just because we really miss physical camps. We won’t do it, you shouldn’t do it, and you shouldn’t trust anyone who will.
We’ll continue to keep you updated on the possibility of physical camps, as well as our exciting schedule of upcoming online camps. We share everyone’s hope that coronavirus will stop spreading, and that treatment and testing will be readily available soon.
Be well.