COVID-19 Update - Fall Rec Season Cancelled

Parents,

The Board of the Hillsdale Soccer Association have met repeatedly over the past several months to discuss the upcoming fall soccer season. Covid-19 infections are still a part of the daily conversations in the area. The pandemic has also caused economic dislocations as well as school in-person attendance concerns. The Board takes the safety of its players, coaches and spectators very seriously and has discussed various ways to hold a fall soccer season and yet minimize the possibilities of transmissions.

At this point the Board has made the decision to cancel both the town clinic and joint PVYSL fall soccer seasons. Soccer is considered a medium risk contact sport, so scrimmages and games would be allowed. However, based on State of New Jersey and Borough of Hillsdale guidelines, games and practices would need to have attendance by fewer participants than normal, thus allowing for proper social distancing for both the players and spectators. It was the Board’s opinion that spectator attendance would need to be limited, but a parent or responsible party would be required to remain at the field in case the player developed symptoms of Covid-19 or some other injury. In addition, we recognize the tremendous effort that the schools have taken to separate the students into two cohorts to mitigate the spread of Covid-19. Given all these additional safety measures, the Board believes the conduct of a season would be overly burdensome for the volunteer coaches upon which the program relies.

As you know you only registered to participate and no funds have been paid. At this time we will cancel all registrations. Please believe this decision was not taken lightly nor was it desired. However, the Board believes that caution, in this instance, is the more prudent action.

We thank you for your interest in the program and will notify you for any upcoming programs.

Hillsdale Soccer Association