As Arizona continues its phased reopening, many Tucson city parks as well as recreational sports leagues are taking a cautious approach when it comes to their plans to start up again.
Fields and facilities at Morris K. Udall Center, Clements Center and El Pueblo Park have a tentative June 8 date for reopening, but recreational classes, leagues and other organized group activities do not have a set start date, according to a city of Tucson staff member.
The city fields play host to both several adult and youth recreational sport leagues, including softball, baseball, volleyball and soccer.
The first phase for reopening each of the three park facilities includes allowing public access to the fields and weight-room areas.
Current reservations for fields and facilities that are a part of 130 public Tucson parks are canceled until at least June 8, per the city of Tucson website.
The plan for opening the dozens of other parks around the city is not known, and attempts to reach Tucson’s director of parks and recreation for more information did not yield an immediate response.
However, several recreational sports leagues across the Tucson area have already begun making plans for the restart of their programs, which are individually detailed below.
Sports Park Tucson
The adult league, which offers coed, as well as individual men’s and women’s softball and beach volleyball teams, is set to begin play June 1. The league posted COVID-19 guidelines on its website Friday to ensure more safety measures are being taken as games begin.
These new measures include showing the contents of their bag to a staff member upon entrance to the fields, a 6-foot social distancing rule for spectators enforced by team captains and staff members, and the elimination of player handshakes and high-fives.
Softball players are told to use their own equipment. Catchers and umpires will be positioned so that they maintain distance, and disinfectant spray will be provided to each team to use in between innings on the ball and equipment.
If these measures prove to be inadequate, the league may decide to require participants to wear masks during competition.
Tucson Women’s Soccer League
The TWSL has a later date in mind for beginning play. For coed leagues, June 26 is the tentative start date and June 29 for women’s leagues, according to league vice president Tania Sierra.
Where TWSL differs from other recreation leagues is that it has to follow guidelines set by the Arizona State Soccer Association, as opposed to what Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey recommends.
“We have to wait on them to get clearance to play first,” Sierra said. “Everything is still sort of on hold.”
Despite the scheduled plans to begin play at the end of June, Sierra said that opinions on restarting the league are “divided” both among board members and league participants.
She said that a lot of teams have been eager to resume play since the stay-at-home order expired, while others have expressed that they may not play in the summer season and could wait until the fall league begins.
Of the league’s six board members, Sierra said that “two or three of them are reluctant to begin play again.”
Tucson Indoor Sports Center
TISC has already opened up its doors again, and a handful of leagues resumed play. The sports center hosted a Memorial Day indoor rollerblade hockey tournament with participants ranging from youths under 10 to adult leagues.
The TISC has also been offering instructional classes during the week, and it plans to launch a new “elite” division to the indoor hockey league in June.
On May 15, the league posted new COVID-19 guidelines to its website noting the limiting of occupancy, requiring staff workers to wear masks and asking spectators to maintain social distancing.
Plexiglass dividers will be placed at player check-in and for restaurant ordering.
In addition, participants have been asked to self-check their health before entering the facility and have been asked to purchase a mask for their hockey helmets.
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