Minnesota health officials will allow outdoor youth sports games to resume next week

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Under new guidance issued on Friday, the Minnesota Department of Health will allow outdoor youth sports leagues to resume in full starting June 24.

Team practices, scrimmages, and games between teams will all be allowed to start on June 24 for outdoor sports, leaders say.

For indoor leagues, the state says practices will be allowed to resume starting June 24, and games and scrimmages will be allowed to be played starting July 1.

The state is recommending leagues and teams avoid large gatherings outside of games and instead organize in "pods" of the same players, coaches, and staff members of no more than 25 people. Pods should avoid intermixing.

While the state is allowing teams to resume games as soon as June 24, health officials are recommending teams phase in their restarts. First, starting with inter-team scrimmages on June 24, then after two weeks, games with teams in the same community.

After another two weeks, teams can then consider games outside their communities, but state leaders urge leagues to keep an eye on the COVID-19 situation.

The full guidance for teams is available here.