Perception of the Sports Social Environment After the Development and Implementation of an Identification Tool for Contagious Risk Situations in Sports During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

José Ramón Lete-Lasa,Joaquín Gómez-Varela,Javier Rico-Díaz,Rafael Martín-Acero,Dan Río-Rodríguez

doi:10.3389/fspor.2020.610421

Abstract

The present work details the methodological process for creating a tool for the identification of COVID-19 potential contagion situations in sport and physical education before, during, and after practice and competition. It is a tool that implies an educational and methodological process with all the agents of the sports system. This tool identifies the large number of interactions occurring through sports action and everything that surrounds it in training, competition, and its organization. The aim is to prepare contingency protocols based on an exhaustive analysis, risk detection, and proposal of contingency measures trying to reduce the residual risk to a minimum. In a second part, the results of the implementation of this tool in the sports system of Galicia (Spain) are shown revealing the change in perception about the coronavirus transmission in sport of the technicians and the problem for returning to sport for athletes under 18 years.

Highlights

Pandemic vigilance and reducing the risk of global spreading of the contagious coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) are the primary concern in all sectors
Sports officials declared that with the FCOVID-DXTG methodological process, they have learned about identification, assessment, and accuracy in measures to prevent contagion risks in sports (4.6 ± 0.6), and they have changed their perception about the coronavirus infection in sports (3.9 ± 0.9)
They declared there was a lack of protocols for avoiding COVID-19 risks before and after sports practice (1.9 ± 1.3) and during the sporting activities (2.6 ± 1.4)

Summary

Introduction

Pandemic vigilance and reducing the risk of global spreading of the contagious coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) are the primary concern in all sectors. If we talk about sports, massive events present considerable public health challenges to health authorities and governments (McCloskey et al, 2020). The WHO published a risk assessment tool that enables sports organizers to methodically review critical considerations and risk management steps for hosting an event, assess risks with a weighted-system approach, and factor in risk reduction through various mitigation measures. Sport is preparation for mass events and daily sports practice. Most sports federations do not always count on enough economic resources, such as mass media sports, to use expensive mitigation measures every day (i.e., test, medical staff). Managing and assessing the intrinsic contagion risk inside the practice is of paramount importance

Results

Discussion

Conclusion