Parents and Guardians,
As always Lebanon Youth Basketball (LYB) will put the health and wellbeing of our players first and foremost. While we recognize there are a lot of different views and opinions regarding our current environment with Covid 19 we are going to offer you a choice for your child to play basketball during the 2020-2021 season. A July 23rd article from the CDC regarding school made the following statement:
“Aside from a child’s home, no other setting has more influence on a child’s health and well-being than their school. The in-person school environment does the following:
- provides educational instruction;
- supports the development of social and emotional skills;
- creates a safe environment for learning;
- addresses nutritional needs; and
- facilitates physical activity.”
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/reopening-schools.html
We feel like this refers to extracurricular activities as well.
We hope this letter helps you to determine if your child will be participating in the Lebanon Youth Basketball Program this season. If you choose to play, it is imperative that your child is registered as soon as possible so that we can move forward with our plans for the season. Registration is currently open for all levels of play that Lebanon Youth Basketball offers.
You can register now at: https://lebanonyouthbasketball.sportngin.com/register/form/850724594
Registration will close on August 28th, 2020. After your child is registered should you choose to ask for a refund you will have until Labor Day, September 5th, 2020 to make that request in writing. On September 6th, 2020 Lebanon Youth Basketball will begin our investment into the league with common expenses that occur every season. Evaluations are scheduled to begin Saturday, September 12th, 2020. Should the season cancel prior to the completion of 15 games, a prorated amount of your fee will be refunded. Players that elect not to participate after the September 6th, 2020 deadline will not receive a refund if the league operates as expected.
We have carefully put together three options that will offer competitive basketball, skill development, and life lessons this season.
The first option is to continue playing in the Cincinnati Premier Youth Basketball League (CPYBL) as in past years, should the State allow that to happen. As things are written now we are not optimistic that this is a viable option for the 2020-2021 season. If we are not confident or comfortable with having our teams play in the CPYBL by September 5th, 2020 we will move to our second or third options. If we pursue option two or three, there may be an opportunity to compete in the CPYBL after January 1st. This is not an option that is currently available but may become available should CPYBL delay the beginning of their season.
The second option is having a Warren County only league with a select number of other schools that have residences inside of Warren County. This allows us to operate as safe as possible within the guidelines of the Warren County Health Department. It also allows us to provide competition and the ability for kids to improve their basketball skills. We are actively working with other Warren County Youth Organizations to make this happen. The current injunction in Warren County set on August 6th, 2020 allows for teams outside the same school or organization to compete against each other inside Warren County. The limited travel will also be an added benefit.
The third option is a Lebanon only league. This limits the risk of spread the most. Many of the players would be in school together, as of now, so those players are exposed to each other daily. The challenge will be accurately placing like teams together and we will most likely do this by combining grade levels such as 3rdand 4th (Donovan Elementary) as well as 5th and 6th (Berry Intermediate). This option also allows us to contact trace should an outbreak occur because everyone involved will be a Lebanon resident.
Finally, based on the amount of gym time we secure we may have to limit the number of players we are able to accommodate. We operate on a first come first serve basis based on the registration date. And, we will need coaches at every level so that we can field as many teams as we are able.
While the information is ever changing and flowing from several different angles this is what you can expect from LYB in the 2020-2021 season:
- Communication via the email address you register with (please check spam settings).
- Practice may be limited to one per week, based on availability of gym time.
- Due to jersey number conflicts we may use practice jerseys as our game jerseys for this one season.
- We may have to practice and play at a location outside of Lebanon, most likely in Warren County.
- Team placements may not be “A” team, “B” team, etc. as in the past. They may be split even per grade, even amongst two grades combined or there may be Athletic and Rec. options for different or combined grade levels. Like skilled players will be placed with like skilled players.
- If a player contracts Covid-19, his/her team will be quarantined for two weeks and other teams will pick up their games. They will not have practice times while quarantined.
- Due to potential gym time conflict and the possible cancellation of fall sports we may start the season as early as October.
- It is possible that we may have weeknight games.
Additional information, guidelines, and expectations will be released shortly to cover evaluations, practices, and games.
Given the current environment LYB reserves the right to make the appropriate changes in the best interest of the players, the LYB program, its parents and other participants.
We would again like to emphasize the importance of registering your player as soon as possible. To secure gym time, we need to know how many teams will be participating this season.
You can register now at: https://lebanonyouthbasketball.sportngin.com/register/form/850724594
Thank you,
Lebanon Youth Basketball 2020-2021 Board of Directors
info@lebanonyouthbasketball.org
brad.work@lebanonyouthbasketball.org
