In early July, LeagueSide surveyed our national network of leagues and youth sports parents to learn about how 700 leagues and parents were approaching return to play. Here’s what we found:
1. 30% of youth sports organizations across the country are still at risk of shutting down due to COVID-19, while this is down from 47% in April, it’s still a significant number.
2. 53.3% of Spring leagues resumed play, but only 23.1% of those that have resumed have resumed with full play.
3. Of those that have not resumed play: 21.5% expected to resume this Summer, 58.5% expect to resume in Fall 2020, and 7.7% are suspended indefinitely.
4. Actions taken as a result of COVID: 29.5% of leagues cut programs, 26.2% cut scholarships or financial aid for players, 20.5% cut staff, 4.1% merged with another league, 63.9% cut other costs.
5. The most cited new league policies for returning to play are:
Social distancing (84.6%)
Restrict sharing of equipment (79.2%)
Sanitizing equipment frequently (77.7%)
Restrict spectators at practices/games (69.2%)
Hand sanitizer or hand washing stations (63.8%)
Temperature checks before games (50.0%)
Require audience to wear face masks (43.1%)
Require participants to wear face masks (28.5%)
No policies (7.7%)
6. 80.2% of parents said they WILL let their kids play youth sports if they begin throughout the summer – 90.4% if they begin in the fall
7. 86.5% of parents expect to receive a refund on their registration fee if a season was cancelled due to COVID |
