CCCAA issues guidance to membership regarding air quality and competition

The California Community College Athletic Association office is issuing the following statement to its membership in regards to the impact of the fires and subsequent air quality levels on the 2018 post-conference schedule.

CCCAA Bylaws 9.7.4 A., states A. To monitor the air pollution for safety during athletic events, CCCAA colleges will determine Air Quality Index by consulting AirNow (www.airnow.gov) or, if located in Southern California, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (www.aqmd.gov) to determine precautions and recommendations for athletic events including practices and games.

These guidelines are to be used to assist the host institution in formulating their determination to hold the event. Links to the most recent NCAA guidelines provided to its membership, as well as public information posted by Stanford University to guide its on-campus practice and competition decisions, are listed as resources below. Additionally, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has commented to the media. Those comments are provided below as another resource.

We are all aware of the general nature of the situation we face around the State but only the host College is directly aware of their local environment and is ultimately the decision-maker on whether the scheduled event will be conducted.  We would expect that all members scheduled to host a post-conference event to be in contact with the scheduled opponent, conference commissioner as well as informing the CCCAA Director of Championships on all postponements and rescheduling plans as soon as feasibly possible. 

Above all, the safety of the participants, staff and generally public are of upmost concern.

AIR QUALITY RESOURCES
NCAA Air Quality (http://www.ncaa.org/sport-science-institute/air-quality)
Stanford (https://gostanford.com/news/2018/11/9/athletics-air-quality-notice.aspx)
AirNow (www.airnow.gov)
South Coast Air Quality Management District (www.aqmd.gov)
CIF comments to Sacramento Bee:  “Due to the size of the state, there is no universal rule regarding air quality. The State CIF advises schools to adhere to local environmental agencies and air quality indexes to determine the potential risk. The CIF urges coaches to plan accordingly in designing their outdoor practice sessions to reduce exposure to all weather-related issues.” – Rebecca Brutlag, CIF Media Relations Officer (link to entire Sacramento Bee article here)