Presidents, Athletics Directors, Athletic Trainers, and COVID Screeners:
Since last spring, the NAIA has been working to find a way to keep our student-athletes safe while still allowing for athletics to take place. Given the issues with testing, the NAIA opted for a vigorous screening protocol instead. Nearly everyone within the association agreed that athletics without daily screening would be irresponsible and reckless.
In August, an online daily verification form was created to monitor screening adherence. At the time of launch, the national office was aware that the process would need to be refined, but the importance of launching this tool quickly was paramount. Since then, we have implemented multiple updates based on membership feedback. (For more information, visit the screening FAQs.)
Daily Verification Form Updates
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Multiple sports can now be submitted at one time. At the top of the form, multiple sports can now be selected via the multiple choice menu. Once selected, the screening questions will be asked for each sport.
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A designation for “Inactive Status” has been added. This checkbox should be used if a team has continuous days during which no team activities occur. No reporting is required while the checkbox is clicked. Once activities resume, simply begin submitting a screening verification for that sport.
Dashboard Updates
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14-day view now available. The dashboard now shows a 14-day view to see if a team submitted the verification each of the last 14 days.
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Dashboard indicates inactivity. New indicators will show teams that are inactive and also display the number of participants withheld each day.
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Cumulative color status has been removed. The initial color status was calculated based on compliance since August, which would cause confusion when compared with the most recent 14 days.
With screening being our primary line of defense against COVID, it is critical that all institutions submit this daily screening information. We owe this to our student-athletes.
Beginning next week, national office staff will provide assistance by reaching out to schools that have not consistently completed the daily verification. We all want to see sports happen successfully throughout the rest of this year, and we need your help to make that happen.
All the best,
Jim Carr
