Inslee: Professional sports OK to resume Friday; guidelines for youth sports to return

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Gov. Jay Inslee's office issued new guidelines Friday that allow for the resumption of professional sports league activities in Washington, effective immediately.

Guidelines were also issued for outdoor youth sports and outdoor adult team recreational sports for counties that enter Phase 2 or Phase 3.

For professional sports, teams are allowed full team practices and games without spectators, regardless of what phase their county is in, provided they follow the league wide and team wide "return to play" safety plans. The teams also must report the dates of their practices and games to the county health departments.

The Seattle Sounders and MLS have announced they would be returning to play this summer and this would clear the way for spectator-less matches in Seattle. The move would also clear the way for the Seattle Seahawks to allow coaches back at their training facility in Renton to start getting ready for the upcoming season.

The Seattle Mariners' season remains in limbo as Major League Baseball and its players remain at an impasse over pay and health safety proposals. Reports are the WNBA and Seattle Storm would conduct their season in one location, while the OL Reign women's soccer team is resuming play in Utah as part of a 25-game tournament.

Youth Sports given guidance to resume

It's not just the adults, but young athletes who could be getting back into the swing of things this summer.

If your county is in Phase 2, Inslee's proclamation allows team practices for both outdoor youth sports teams and adult outdoor rec leagues in groups up to five players in separate parts of the field, provided they are separated by a buffer zone and maintain at least 5 feet between players with no contact. Each league, organization or club must also publish a "return to play" safety plan. Parents and household members are also told not to congregate on the sidelines.

Once a county reaches Phase 3, games can resume, provided no one field exceeds an attendance of 50. In places where there are multiple fields, the attendance limit is counted on a per-field, not per complex basis, the guidelines state.

Note, neither school-sanctioned nor college-sanctioned sports are covered by these guidelines, Inslee's office said.

Inslee also notes that the guidelines do not obligate any facility to reopen.