Troop 13 Summer in-person activity guidelines

Good morning, Troop 13 families:

Per my email on Tuesday, our Scouts are beginning to organize some in-person, outdoor meetings and activities for the summer. To support these in-person activities, the Scoutmasters and I are establishing a set of guidelines to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

Before I outline the guidelines, I must emphasize that all outdoor activities are optional this summer. We respect each family's wishes to have their scouts participate or not participate. Further, scouts will not be disadvantaged in their rank advancement if they do not attend in-person activities. There will be sufficient opportunity for all scouts to advance in rank and we will also be holding virtual meetings that all scouts may participate in.

As of this writing, Massachusetts is in Phase 2 of the state reopening guidelines. We understand that Phase 3 will likely go into effect on Monday, July 6th, but our guidelines are informed by Phase 2 protocols.

We've consulted a number of resources in compiling these guidelines, including:

• Mass.gov guidance on youth sports and camps: https://www.mass.gov/doc/outdoor-adult-sports-supervised-youth-sports-leagues-summer-sports-camps/download

• Scouting Spirit of Adventure Council guidance on reopening: https://www.scoutspirit.org/reopening/

• CDC guidance on COVID-19 prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Following are the guidelines for Troop 13 in-person meetings and activities. Please review these guidelines with your scouts.

1. If a scout or anyone in the scout's family has COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough (see CDC guidance)) the scout should not participate in an in-person activity.

2. Scouts must arrive and depart activities in family cars only - no carpooling.

3. Scouts must bring their own masks.

4. Masks must be worn when waiting for an activity to begin, e.g., in a parking lot.

5. Masks must be worn at all times when physical distancing can't be achieved - physical distancing is 6' separation, including out-of-doors.

6. Scouts must adhere to adult scout leaders' guidance about when masks can be removed during an activity.

7. Scouts must bring their own water bottles, snacks, hand sanitizer, insect spray, scout book, etc., and not share with other scouts; items should be carried in a bag or backpack.

8. Scouts must bring their own phones to an event if they wish to contact a parent, i.e., there will be no sharing of phones to contact a parent for a ride; scout pick-up should be arranged in advance.

9. Scouts must wash their hands frequently and use hand sanitizer if soap & water are not available. Scouts should use hand sanitizer at a minimum when starting and ending the event.

10. Scout groups will include no more than 12 individuals, specifically a maximum of 10 scouts with 2 adults to provide two-deep leadership; larger events will have planned separation into smaller patrol groups, all with two-deep adult leadership.

11. There will be no cabin camping planned for this summer; tent camping may be planned for later in the summer, with one scout/family per tent.

These guidelines will go into effect on Monday, July 6th with the Scouts' planned activity to hike into the Nehoiden property. Jack Henderson has emailed the Troop with the details on this outing.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Many thanks,

Sarah Bassett

Committee Chair, Troop 13, Needham