Good morning and thank you for your reply. I was hoping that someone had already looked at this issue. I use Airtable instead of MS Access or FileMaker because I can have multiple users working together. Here is the narrative I wrote:
Logistical Issues enforcing a COVID Policy for Multi-day Tournaments
Premise: While it is a reasonably easy to write a COVID policy for multi-day tournaments it is much more difficult to implement and maintain any rules. The purpose of this document is to explore the logistical issues. (they appear in no particular order). This assumes that we do not trust the word of any player stating that they are vaccinated or “immune”.
Definitions and assumptions: To simplify the discussion the word ‘we’ is meant to mean either the controlling body or the tournament director. It is assumed that this document covers both single day and multi-day events. A multi-venue is simply more than one club being used for an event.
Volunteers: As you read through this list of concerns and questions please keep in mind that to manage the process a whole new layer of volunteers is necessary. Accordingly the degree of sophistication required of that volunteer is amplified. They must be fully aware of the COVID rules set-forth by the controlling body. Have a reasonable understanding of infection control and the utilization of PPE.
Database: It is reasonable to consider the need for some sort of database to manage the information that is being collected.
Problem: A multi-day multi-venue tournament offers unique issues when it comes to implementing a COVID policy.
The first is collecting the data, what data to collect and then how to store and reference that data. Do we have an obligation to share that data with anyone who asks? Are there privacy issues that we need to be concerned with?* If so how do we certify that the data is secure?
If we are asking for documentation of vaccination and testing what formate should that be in? There is the possibility that we could see images of vaccination cards, QR codes or simply cards presented at the time of the event. If we are asking for negative test results what format are we accepting? If we are asking for serology reports what is the timeframe we are able to accept and what format do we accept? And of course how do we store and reference the data?
At the time of an event are we responsible for temperature checking? If so how do we do that and who is responsible for taking the temperatures and do we record that data? If so how and where do we do that? Who shoulders the cost of the equipment?
While we are trying to understand the complexity of player management we also have to consider spouses / partners and the occasional viewer. How do we manage those people and are we even responsible for doing that?
This process gets more complicated for multi-day events because we do not have any control over what happens at night. Participants are going to be staying in hotels, going out to diner, shopping at the grocery store, the list of possible exposure is endless. Logically we have to repeat the temperature testing and asking the same set of questions prior to any play. How do we track that?
Another issue that comes to mind is who is going to be the ultimate decision maker when it comes to enforcing the policy. In other words who is going to be the COVID Cop and what authority do they have? What if there is a team of three and one of them arrives at a venue and has an elevated temperature? How do we handle that situation? Do you have them mask and allow them to play? Do we require them to mask and glove? Or what if they have to drop out do we have a substitute policy in place? Medically if someone comes with an elevated temperature the possibility that the rest of the team is infected is highly possible. Thus, do we have to offer rapid testing at the venue? If so who administers the test and how do we manage that data?
What is our legal and ethical responsibility? Do we have to contact trace? If a venue is within the confines of an HOA how do we interact with the HOA? How do we respond that their requirements?
We also have the issue of socialization after games. There is no way that people are going to participate during the day and then go to their home or hotel room and isolate until the next day.
