COVID park reopening plan

Forum for info about WM Althings, elections, questions about the Kingdom, etc.

COVID park reopening plan

Postby ravenb » Mon May 31, 2021 12:50 pm

OPENING PARKS

As of May 27, the opening of California and easing of restrictions will be happening June 15.
Until that time, the current Westmarch restrictions will continue in place.

We need to conduct ourselves with respect and mindfulness to protect all members so we can continue to meet in person. We are an inclusive social group, with a variety of backgrounds and physical strengths and limitations. It is the responsibility of Westmarch to respect this. Please understand that not everyone can be vaccinated. It is their personal choice. We need to respect that in how we gather as a group again. Let’s be open to creating whatever the “new normal” will be for us to help Amtgard thrive!

Barring any changes, as of June 15, Westmarch will be supporting meeting physically with the following guidelines:

1. Parks must comply with local and state guidelines. Local and state guidelines supersede CDC and federal guidelines.
2. Parks will physically meet no more often than every 14 days. Virtual/online meeting opportunities can be provided on a weekly basis. Attendance, whether virtual or in person, must meet Corpora guidelines to maintain voting eligibility. Online attendance must be continued to respect those who are not yet comfortable meeting in person while not compromising their attendance and participation.
3. At sign-in, proof of vaccination will be required. A copy of vaccination “passport” will be attached to a current participant waiver. Another suggestion could be for the local PM to maintain a confidential list of vaccinated members. All personal information must be redacted. There will be no penalty for not being vaccinated, however there will be adjustments on social distancing and mask requirements. Unvaccinated members will always be able to document online attendance according to their local park schedule.
4. Participants supplying proof of vaccination, with the second vaccination being greater than or equal to 2 weeks before the park day date, will not be required to wear masks during battlegames. They will, however, be required to wear masks in Nirvana. For the purposes of these guidelines, Nirvana is defined as any area where there is no active fighting.
5. Individuals who do not have a complete vaccination passport will be required to wear masks at all times, unless eating or drinking, and maintain at least a 6 foot distance between themselves and all other attendees. You will be required to wear masks during battlegames.

Nirvana
1. It is requested that all participants, whether meeting vaccination requirements or not, wear masks at all times unless eating or drinking. Nirvana is defined as any area where there is no active fighting.
2. It is summer, hydration is important so please make sure to hydrate. Replace your mask in Nirvana when done sipping and eating. There will be no shared water/drinks or food.
3. Social distancing guidelines will be:
a. Groups must be 10 or less people per group.
b. Within a group, social distancing will require: if you hold your arms straight out sideways and you touch the fingertips of your neighbor, you are too close.
c. Hugging and close personal contact will be discouraged. This is a better safe than sorry guideline. Meetings of small groups and companies outside of park days may allow for a closer personal contact.
d. There will be no potlucks or shared feast at park or Kingdom level until further notice.
e. There can be no loaner weapons or sharing of weapons, sashes, enchantment strips, spell balls, or other equipment.


Sign-ins:

The PM will continue to be responsible for the sign-ins with the following adjustments:
1. The PM (or Monarch) will be the only one who handles any writing utensil to sign-in. Sign-in will be “on your honor”, no proof of ID will be required. Attendees will be required to provide their mundane name, their Amtgard name, class and home park to the PM at the time of sign-in. If any of this information is incorrect, the PM will make one attempt to verify, or the attendance will not be counted.
2. Options for sign-ins: chip/disc scanning (TR will be trialing RFID/QR codes)
3. Attendees must wear a mask at sign-in.
4. There will be hand sanitizer available at the sign-in area.
5. Attendees may have their temperature checked at sign-in. Parks can use a scanning thermometer to check temperatures at sign-in. This may be revised as summer heat influences.
6. If you provide falsified information stating you are vaccinated, you will be considered for a CoC violation for creating an unsafe environment.


Battlegames:

1. Games will be composed of 10 or less persons per team.
2. Games will be 15 minutes or less, with a 5 minute break between, to minimize personal exposure according to guidelines. Hydrate during breaks with personal water bottles.
3. There will be no sharing of equipment, and close personal contact will be discouraged. Take your strikes and move away.

Parks can only reopen to in-person meetings based on local and their park guidelines. If not allowed to reopen, virtual meetings will need to continue until local or state guidelines ease.
If a member of a park is found to be positive for COVID, that park may not meet for at least two weeks, and it would be recommended that all persons at the park that may have had contact with said person test negative before returning to in person meeting. Also, the person who was positive must test negative and show proof of the negative test (minus personal information) before they are allowed back to in person meetings.
Travel between parks will be discouraged. There will be no Kingdom level events or gatherings until the Monarchy has determined that these gatherings will not risk the spread of COVID. Virtual contests are definitely encouraged.
If there is any indication of health concerns Westmarch will be closed immediately and we will resume the way we have been doing thing for the last 6 months.
In conclusion, our greatest concern is the collective well-being of Westmarch. We need to respect individual choices while being mindful of others safety. Not everyone will agree with these guidelines, but our intention is that Westmarch can continue so that we once again can beat each other with foam and share the joyous memories of comraderie at park days and events.

Lady Raven Lunatic Woman-at-Arms, Walker in the Middle
Raven Queen of Westmarch
V1 31 May 2021
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
ravenb
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:14 pm

Re: COVID park reopening plan

Postby ravenb » Fri Jul 09, 2021 8:11 pm

The current protocol for opening WM park days will continue through the end of July with the following modifications:
Show proof of vaccination. Bring your card. If you are vaccinated, then you are not required to wear a mask. Please be mindful, however, of social distancing and respect other members. If you can not show proof of vaccination, you will be considered unvaccinated and will need to wear a mask at all times at the park. If you are concerned about your personal vaccination information being written down, i.e. privacy concerns, just bring your card. There are regional spikes, primarily in unvaccinated populations. We respect your choice on whether to get vaccinated, but in equal importance is the safety of everyone so that Westmarch has the best chance of continuing to meet in person
The Monarch has the final say. More restrictive local park restrictions are supported and are at the discretion of the land Monarch. The Kingdom guidelines are a minimum.

There have been instances where cross-gaming people have been attending between groups in a less than 14 day frequency. Similarly, fighter practices during the week, with members who attend Westmarch parks on the weekends, will follow the meeting no more often than every 14 day guidelines. Which means, if you attend fighter practices during the week, you need to wait 14 days to attend a regular in-person WM park meeting. It is up to the discretion of the Monarch about cross-gaming attendance restrictions. There are no limitations on virtual, e.g. Discord and ZOOM, meetings. If the other meetings are not a Westmarch credited event, i.e. not counting for WM attendance, then members would need to attend virtual WM meetings to gain WM attendance credits. There is no limitation on virtual meeting attendance for attendance credits. Please keep your attendance at least to the minimum required to be voting eligible.

This is a difficult transition, and understandably the protocol will not be agreeable for all. The primary focus is to resume meeting in person and be conservative at first so that at the end of this reign, we are able to meet in person at larger, hopefully Kingdom level events.

As the state and local situations change, the WM Circle of Monarchs will continue to meet to review these changes and adapt. Be patient, enjoy whacking each other with swords again! And check out the PSA by Squire Baronet Fifty Two Obsidyan and classes by Lord Halavere on rules: carry that with you onto the field and Lay on!!!

In your service,

The Raven Queen of Westmarch
ravenb
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:14 pm

Re: COVID park reopening plan

Postby ravenb » Thu Jul 29, 2021 5:51 pm

This was the recommended protocol for the month of July:
Show proof of vaccination. Bring your card. If you are vaccinated, then you are not required to wear a mask. Please be mindful, however, of social distancing and respect other members. If you can not show proof of vaccination, you will be considered unvaccinated and will need to wear a mask at all times at the park. If you are concerned about your personal vaccination information being written down, i.e. privacy concerns, just bring your card. There are regional spikes, primarily in unvaccinated populations. We respect your choice on whether to get vaccinated, but in equal importance is the safety of everyone so that Westmarch has the best chance of continuing to meet in person
The Monarch has the final say. More restrictive local park restrictions are supported and are at the discretion of the land Monarch. The Kingdom guidelines are a minimum.
As of July 28, according to the Mercury news, many counties would qualify for the purple tier due to the surge in COVID cases from the Delta variant, a significant change from just last week (see proposed color tier maps). If we are going to have our best chance at staying open, and return to "normal", please pay attention to these Kingdom recommendations:
Vaccinated: good to wear a mask, not required. You can still carry the virus.
Unvaccinated: WEAR A MASK. If you can not breathe because it's too hot or smoky, maybe pass on park day. Don't risk your health and the health of others.
Remember: those who get COVID, may lose the ability to breathe forever. We need to think of others as well as ourselves. It is hot. It is smoky. Please stay safe, stay healthy.
Photos from the Mercury News COVID tracker
Screenshot (487).png



The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one (Spock 2015)
And also a reminder: if you are unvaccinated, and decide to not wear a mask, and you develop COVID, potentially exposing other people, the park may be closed (no set time period, at the determination of the Land and Kingdom Monarchy), and a discussion of the Monarchy will ensue as to whether this would constitute a COC violation for creating an unsafe environment for others.
This may not be a popular stance, but I care about each and every one of you. Each of us is a valuable part of Amtgard. I cant imagine how I would feel, if when I returned to the park and another member had died from COVID because of my actions. I believe this is that serious.
Yours in service,
The Raven Queen of Westmarch
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
ravenb
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:14 pm

Re: COVID park reopening plan

Postby ravenb » Sun Aug 15, 2021 11:18 am

Dear Kingdom of Westmarch,
It fills my heart with joy to see the pictures and videos of us back out meeting in person. There are smiles, sweat and true enjoyment in whacking each other! Or just hanging out and getting reconnected.
My vision is to able to meet in person for Coronation in November, and if all goes well, earlier for Conclave at Clockwork Spires in October. The goal is to move towards realizing that for all of us, doing what we can control and adapting to what we can’t. We need to do that safely, and gosh darn sometimes that seems to change by the minute!
There has been a large desire to meet in person weekly, which is a bit tricky to navigate with the tightening restrictions and mask mandates for indoor group gatherings. We meet outdoors, but in between are likely indoors. I am concerned about the surge in cases, and the threat the delta variant poses to all of us, vaccinated or not. So for August, we will be balancing weekly park days, with the current state and local guidelines and restrictions, continued virtual meetings, and cooperation between the local and Kingdom monarchy.
I will be posting revised, suggested guidelines shortly, trying to strike a balance between what was normal, and whatever that will be for us tomorrow.
Yours in service,
TRQOW

August 7 WM COVID post
• These are the suggested minimum guidelines. Land Monarchs are welcome to practice more stringent guidelines as determined by their local COVID risk level.
https://covidactnow.org/us/california-ca/?s=21481073

• Parks may meet weekly at the local Monarch’s discretion, considering local and state guidelines. All meetings will be outdoors only.
• It is recommended that all members wear masks. Unvaccinated members must wear masks at all times. Masks may be removed to eat or drink, adhering to social distancing while unmasked.
• Proof of vaccination will be required at sign-in for in person meetings.
• Virtual activities and attendance will be continued. There will be no attendance penalty for choosing online attendance in lieu of in person.
• If a member has a known COVID exposure or diagnosis, they are required to inform their monarchy.
• If a member has a known COVID exposure or diagnosis, it is recommended they not attend park for at least 14 days and show proof of a negative for COVID test before returning.
• If you are sick, stay home.
• If there is a member who has tested positive for COVID and attended an in-person park day, the land will be shut down for 14 days for in person meeting. Online attendance will be available.
• If you know you have COVID, or been exposed, and attend park and infect other members, there will be corrective action.
• Monarchs will run their park in adherence with the most current local and state guidelines. Monarchs have the final say.
• Interpark travel is discouraged.
• The Corpora emergency contingencies will remain in place.
ravenb
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:14 pm

Re: COVID park reopening plan

Postby ravenb » Thu Sep 30, 2021 11:22 am

Here is a link for information on the current COVID status in California. I will be posting modifications to the WM COVID reopening guidelines shortly, in anticipation of Conclave October 16 and Westmarch coronation November 20 at Thor's Refuge
TRQOW

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A ... tn__=H-R&c[0]=AT1HSuDk9USZH_vr0qkEiRkPEwgXLbXwl_RTbBr0r5XFTolkWUXsKRe1-FGbMPMT7mnxxUw4ZMzAoF6jZyYqDjddnKRjfeqYqZj0nEAtZCGZXix4BHK6GYaMLH3wFrI_zF2uuYR4zawYDui9R-30o0eEMe8wiPNJDiNnupBhAyqI9eb7GnorLBLYyxpJDLtdR275CCqaPJ_OhANxq4f7
ravenb
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:14 pm

Re: COVID park reopening plan

Postby ravenb » Fri Oct 01, 2021 9:06 am

Dear Kingdom of Westmarch,
In anticipation of meeting at Conclave October 16, and holding Westmarch Coronation in person at Thor’s Refuge November 20, we will be making the following amendments to the current Westmarch COVID reopening guidelines, effective 1 October 2021:
1. Travel will not be discouraged between lands, however limited travel is recommended.
2. If you travel to another park, you will need to show proof of vaccination at the park you visit.
3. All sign-ins are encouraged to be conducted online. There are several ways to do this: Discord, mORK, or online Google form sign-in sheet. Otherwise, the PM (or Monarch) will conduct sign-ins, so there are no shared utensils or clipboards, according to the current sign-in guidelines.
4. Masks covering the mouth and nose will be required at Westmarch group events, especially in all non-fighting areas.
5. Unvaccinated members can continue to play at the local parks following current masking and social distancing requirements, but may not travel to other parks.
6. Self-disclosure to the local Monarch if you have COVID is required. That member will be required to show a negative COVID test before returning to park, and members of that park may not travel to another park for 14 days.
7. Weapons should be disinfected between games, e.g. sprayed with Lysol, bleach wipe handles.
8. Conclave and TR will be under the supervision of the local Monarch, and adhere to the current local guidelines.
9. There will be no shared food or beverages.
Yours in service,
TRQOW
ravenb
 
Posts: 170
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 4:14 pm


Return to Important Westmarch Issues

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests

cron