The health and safety of everyone associated with the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) from players, staff, fans, rinks, and partners is the Federation's top priority. Currently, the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) remains a significant threat to public health.
The below document outlines the current COVID-19 Health & Safety protocol for the PHF for their six-member Clubs located in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Ontario.
This document has been prepared by the PHF Return to Play Committee (Committee) composed of PHF League officials and advisors from the Cleveland Clinic. The Committee will continue to monitor health restrictions in all locations and the protocols will be adjusted to meet health authority guidelines.
Given the rapidly evolving nature of COVID-19, each individual club should develop appropriate prevention and management strategies that comply with federal, state/provincial, and local public health guidance. Prevention strategies remain of the utmost importance at this time as community-level immunity has not been achieved and varies significantly by region.
All PHF staff, including full-time, part-time, and volunteers, players, coaches, officials, and rinks partners are required to read and implement the below protocols.
- All members of the PHF “high-risk” group are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Examples of the “high-risk” group include staff (full-time, part-time and volunteers), players, coaches, officials, and rinks partners who may come in contact with each other on a daily or weekly basis.
- It is the discretion of each Club to identify members of their High-Risk Group.
- Individuals are considered fully vaccinated 14 days after receiving the final dose of any COVID-19 vaccine either fully approved or approved for emergency use authorization by the United States Food and Drug Administration or any COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada.
- Vaccine documentation that indicates full vaccination is required prior to participating in PHF activities. Proof of vaccination must be on file in the electronic medical record or in the Commissioner’s Office prior to participation.
- Medical and religious exemptions to vaccination will be considered on an individual basis by the Commissioner’s Office.
- ALL “High-Risk” group members of each club are required to adhere to the PCR testing protocol.
- Each Club is responsible for accurate record-keeping of all Club-administered and outside tests and will be able to furnish those records to the Commissioner’s Office upon request.
- The cost of all tests will be covered by the individual Clubs.
- Acceptable Tests
- All surveillance, symptomatic, or contact tracing testing for COVID-19 must be done utilizing either saliva or nasopharyngeal nucleic acid amplification tests (PCR tests).
- SalivaDirect™ test kits will be provided by the League for domestic Clubs for weekly surveillance testing. Test kits must be administered and monitored by the Club’s sports medicine personnel. An N-95 or KN-95 mask and appropriate social distancing must be utilized by the individual(s) conducting the testing while they are collecting and handling samples.
- Alternative PCR testing may be utilized as needed but must not be self-administered.
- Any exceptions to acceptable tests must be approved by the League.
- Surveillance Testing
- During the pre-season, regular season, and post-season, weekly PCR testing will be required for High-Risk Group members. Each Club may determine timing of their PCR testing on non-competition weeks.
Individuals who have documented COVID-19 infection in the past 90 days should be excluded from surveillance testing.
During a week with competition, the PCR test must be completed within three days of the first competition of the week. If circumstances require testing prior to the three day window, an additional point of care antigen or PCR test is required within one day of competition.
- Exempt non-vaccinated players/staff will be required to perform 3 PCR tests per week, separated by at least 48 hours.
- Any exceptions to the surveillance testing protocol must be approved by the League.
- Symptomatic Testing
- PCR testing is required for any High-Risk Group member that experiences symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 as noted in section 4.1.1.
- PCR testing for symptomatic High-Risk Group members should be done at a facility that performs testing for symptomatic individuals as those locations are able to utilize appropriate personal protective equipment. Symptomatic testing will not be performed by Club personnel.
- Close Contact Testing
- If a member of the High-Risk Group is determined to be a close contact, either because of a known exposure from the Club or the League or as determined by the Daily Health Survey (as defined in section 6) or by local health authorities, PCR testing is the only test that will be utilized to release that individual from quarantine.
- Symptomatic Individuals & Positive Tests
- Any individual that experiences symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 including fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of smell or taste, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea, must immediately undergo isolation and obtain a COVID-19 PCR test as noted under section 3.6. Symptomatic individuals are prohibited from reporting to any Club activities.
- Any individual that tests positive for COVID-19 in any setting (i.e., symptomatic testing, surveillance testing, or contact tracing testing), will immediately undergo a 5-day isolation period that will start on the date of the first symptom or on the date of the positive test.
- Any symptomatic individual that tests negative for COVID-19 is required to undergo a second PCR test within 24 to 72 hours after the first test was collected. The symptomatic individual will remain in isolation from the time symptoms develop until the second test is resulted. If the second test is negative, isolation can be discontinued.
- All positive COVID-19 tests must be reported within 24 hr. of the result to Ashley Robbins, Director of Sports Medicine, PHF.
- Discontinuation from isolation will occur after 5 days and with the resolution of any fever for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and with improvement or resolution of other symptoms. Upon discontinuation of isolation, the individual should wear a mask, including at practice, for 5 additional days.
- Isolation can be discontinued sooner than 5 days if the individual is symptom-free and there are two negative PCR tests collected at least 24 hours apart. The individual would not need to wear a mask upon discontinuing isolation with testing.
- Clubs are required to additionally comply with any federal, state/provincial, and local public health mandates if they are more stringent than the League’s policy.
- Increased Club Transmissibility
- If there are 4 or more High-Risk Group members that test positive with COVID-19 within a 7 day period and have been exposed to other members of the High-Risk Group within the last 7 days, the entire Club will enter into a 5 day pause of all team activity. The Club head team physician in conjunction with League Director of Sports Medicine and/or the Chief Medical Officer will determine if a Club meets the criteria for a pause. The date of this pause will begin the day after the last date of contact with any of the COVID-19 positive individuals and team activity will be able to resume on day 6.
- All High-Risk Group members will need to obtain one negative PCR test collected 3 to 5 days after the date of the last exposure prior to re-entry into team activity on day 6 of the pause period.
- Close Contacts & Contact Tracing
- Close contacts are defined as individuals that have been within six feet of someone who has COVID-19 for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period. In determining close contacts, individuals are infectious two days before they have any symptoms or, for asymptomatic patients, two days before the positive specimen collection date.
- If contact tracing or the Daily Health Survey indicates that a fully vaccinated individually is a close contact, that individual is required to mask indoors and outdoors at all times (including during all athletic activity), but will still be allowed to participate in athletic activity unless symptoms develop. Masking will be discontinued if either (1) a 14-day quarantine period has ended, (2) a COVID-19 PCR test is performed three to five days after exposure and is negative, or (3) further assessment does not meet the criteria for being a close contact as determined by the Club’s physician in coordination with the League Director of Sports Medicine.
- Contact tracing is the responsibility of each individual Club. In the instance of a positive member of the High-Risk Group, each Club will provide the PHF Director of Sports Medicine with a contact tracing list upon request.
- A representative from each Club will take a contact tracing course provided by Johns Hopkins (www.coursera.org/learn/covid-19-contact-tracing) or an equivalent course approved by the League Director of Sports Medicine.
- Unless otherwise noted, “isolation” and “quarantine” are defined by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Quarantine and isolation periods do not affect a player’s compensation.
- All players that test positive for COVID-19 will need to be medically cleared to return to play by their Club’s physician after the appropriate period of isolation. It is recommended that Club physicians utilize the Cardiac Considerations for College Student-Athletes during the COVID-19 Pandemic algorithm as developed by an expert panel with members from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and the American College of Cardiology (https://www.amssm.org/Content/pdf-files/COVID19/NCAA-COVID-19-Algorithm-12-AUG-2020.pdf).
- A return to play progression should be followed by Club’s athletic trainers/therapists as noted in the appendix.
- All High-Risk Group members will be required to complete the Daily Health Survey each day they present to a facility in their capacity representing the PHF, which includes all practices, competitions, meetings, or administrative duties.
- All High-Risk Group members will be required to check their temperature at home before coming to practice or game facilities.
- The Daily Health Survey consists of the following yes/no questions:
Are you state-mandated to quarantine based on where you have traveled to/from within the past 14 days? | Yes | No |
Have you had close contact within the last 14 days with anyone known to have tested positive for COVID-19? | Yes | No |
Have you or a member in your household tested positive at any point for COVID-19? | Yes | No |
Do you have a new fever (100.0 F / 38 C or higher), or a sense of having a fever? | Yes | No |
Do you have a new cough that you cannot attribute to another health condition? | Yes | No |
Do you have new shortness of breath that you cannot attribute to another health condition? | Yes | No |
Do you have a new sore throat or runny nose that you cannot attribute to another health condition? | Yes | No |
Do you have new muscle aches that you cannot attribute to another health condition or that may have been caused by a specific physical activity? | Yes | No |
Do you have chills or repeated shaking with chills? | Yes | No |
Do you have a new headache that you cannot attribute to another health condition? | Yes | No |
Do you have nausea or vomiting or diarrhea that you cannot attribute to another health condition? | Yes | No |
Do you have a new loss of taste or smell? | Yes | No |
- The Club’s Compliance Officer (as defined in section 8) will be responsible to ensure all players complete the Daily Health Survey and retain all records for contact tracing purposes.
- Where social distancing cannot be maintained, all members of the High-Risk Group will be required to wear a mask outdoors. Any member of the high-risk group that is not fully vaccinated ie. Medical exemption will be required to wear a mask at all times outdoors.
- All members of the High-Risk Group will be required to wear a mask in indoor settings including at any game, practice, or training venue (such as on the bench and in the locker, training, or weight room) and where otherwise required by applicable regulations or venue policies.
- Individuals are not required to wear a mask when actively participating in on-ice hockey activities or other strenuous or high-intensity training activities (e.g., running, high-intensity training), but should wear a mask when participating in low to moderate-intensity training activities (e.g., weightlifting).
- The following actions will not be considered a mask violation for players who are indoors at a Club facility:
- Removing or pulling down a face covering at the direction of the Club’s athletic training or medical staff.
- Removing or pulling down a face covering in order to briefly eat or drink.
- A brief delay before putting on a face-covering before entering or after exiting the shower, while dressing and undressing, or to attend to grooming and hygiene issues (e.g., brushing teeth, putting in contact lenses, etc.).
- Inadvertent wearing of a face covering in an improper fashion that is promptly corrected upon notification by a Compliance Officer.
- Masks must always be worn while traveling and when not actively eating or drinking in restaurants.
- Masks must be worn where otherwise required by applicable federal, state/provincial, or local regulations or venue policies.
- Each Club will designate a Compliance Officer who is responsible for monitoring and enforcing this protocol for all Club activities.
- The Club’s athletic trainer/therapist will be assigned to the role of Compliance Officer. If Clubs wish to designate another staff member, they are required to do so in writing to the Director of Sports Medicine.
- Clubs to provide each player and staff with two reusable washable masks and a water bottle labeled with their name/number for their exclusive use. Players to maintain possession of their own bottles and to wash and fill them on their own. No sharing of water bottles at any time.
- Medical personnel to be provided by Clubs with KN95 masks for use when treating/interacting in close contact with players. All other staff (coaches, equipment managers, volunteers, officials, etc.) to be provided with disposable 3-ply surgical masks.
- Additional surgical masks should be available in case of damage to the existing mask or player/staff show up without a mask of their own.
- Clubs to provide hand sanitizer at all events for players and staff.
- Clubs to provide protective non-latex gloves for all non-player personnel that wishes to use them (e.g., athletic trainer/therapist, equipment manager).
- Clubs to provide sanitizing wipes and supply of extra masks to equipment managers.
- Club must receive rink COVID-19 cleaning and sanitizing policies prior to first practice. League to provide information to each Club after reviewing and deeming policies follow appropriate protocols.
- Masks are to be worn at all times while at the arena, with the exception of on-ice. This includes locker rooms, weight rooms, hallways, indoor warm-up space, lobby, outdoor warm-up space, and any other area where close contact could occur.
- All food and drink must be individually packaged and should not be shared.
- Clubs are responsible for ensuring locker rooms are outfitted with hand sanitizer, extra masks, and sanitizing wipes at all times.
- A dedicated locker room for each Club should be contracted with practice rinks (based on market availability). Local arena COVID policy regarding social distancing is to be followed.
- Player equipment to be kept in place (based on availability in each market).
- In the event that a consistent practice and/or game locker room is not available, there will be a specific cleaning protocol, determined by the rink, but meeting PHF standards, implemented before players enter and exit each room, including the sanitization of all surfaces. Players to be divided into two locker rooms to halve player density when available. Clubs to work with rinks to allow for social distancing to occur in locker rooms.
- Locker rooms to be locked and access minimized at all times when not in use by team.
- Clubs to provide freshly laundered towels for games and practices. Towels may not be shared. Equipment Managers to wash game uniforms and towels.
- Home team to provide 25 towels for visiting team.
- Treatments to take place outside locker room in a dedicated room.
- Treatment room to be fully cleaned by rink personnel before and after use. As an added precaution table to be wiped down with disinfecting wipes between uses.
- At the Club’s discretion, fully vaccinated players who are injured and engaged in rehabilitation activities at facilities are permitted to access those facilities for workout and rehabilitation purposes at all times, including while the Club is at home, without permission from the Club.
- Fully vaccinated medical staff (i.e., physicians, physical therapists, mental health professionals) who have outside practices are permitted to provide services at Club facilities and outside practices so long as masks are worn during interactions with players.
- Travel on bus requires appropriate social distancing and mask use. Social distancing when flying will be determined by the airline, but masking is mandatory.
- Clubs may eat at restaurants; however, individuals are required to wear a mask when not actively eating or drinking.
- Double occupancy of fully vaccinated personnel at hotels is permitted. Masks are to be worn when not sleeping.
- Use of hotel common spaces (e.g., pools, fitness centers) are permitted for fully vaccinated personnel. If these areas are open to general public, masking (fitness center) and social distancing (pools, hot tubs, saunas, etc.) is required.
- Group celebrations in close quarters is discouraged.
- Team “hugs,” “pig/hog piles,” and congregating is not allowed.
- High fiving with hockey gloves on is permitted.
- No spitting, gum chewing, or chewing tobacco.
- Gross misconduct will not be tolerated. Terms of suspensions are as defined by the Commissioner’s Office.
- Where possible, off-ice team activities should take place outside. For example, warm-ups/cool-downs, dryland training sessions.
- Close contact with general public is NOT permitted. For example, post-game autograph lines, participation of Jr. PHF’ers in team warm-up/bench area are not permitted. However, pre-signed poster giveaways, or intermission mini-games are permitted as long as close contact with general public does not occur.
- For players/coaches performing approved Club/League sponsorship appearances, social distancing, mask-wearing and all other local covid protocols are to be strictly followed.
- Medical staff (physician and/or athletic trainer/therapist) will meet with all players and staff to review policies and protocols outlined in this document.
- Ongoing education and reminders throughout the season will be the responsibility of all Club members and led by their medical staff.
The League will continue to consider other potential modifications to the health and safety protocols for fully vaccinated individuals throughout the 2021-2022 season, as more information becomes publicly available with respect to vaccinations from the CDC or other sources, as conditions relating to COVID-19 materially improve over a sustained period of time, and for other good cause reasonably identified by the parties – but only to the extent that it is safe and appropriate to adopt such modifications.
 | Cleveland Clinic Sports MedicineAthletic Training COVID-19 Return to Play Progression
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Once the athlete is cleared to exercise, the following Return to Play (RTP) progression should be utilized under the supervision of an Athletic Trainer/Therapist. If the athlete was diagnosed with myocarditis, a RTP progression must be managed by a physician, preferably a sports cardiologist, and will likely be a much longer progression.
Athletes may progress to the next stage in the progression after completing the minimum time required in each stage with no symptoms present. If there are any symptoms, the athlete should rest for 24 hours and then go back to the previous stage.
