VAA Families and Volunteers:

VAA activities have been suspended since mid-March, but last week, we all learned that Minnesota’s stay-at-home order will expire on Monday, May 18th. While we certainly cannot return to normal activities at this time, we are excited to report that activities will be resuming on a limited basis. There are still a number of restrictions in place that prohibit full-team practices, games, tournaments and in-person meetings, most significantly the prohibition of gatherings of more than ten people. Additionally, the Governor is working closely with a variety of our local and state sport’s governing bodies to craft a return-to-play plan that is aiming for a June 1st release. VAA activities will be limited, but this is great news for our kids, our families and our organization as a whole.

In addition to the restrictions imposed by the State, VAA has been asked by our facilities partners to prepare a COVID-19 safety plan, which will include operational and safety guidelines for VAA as a whole and for individual sports. That plan has been submitted and must be approved before we can return to Apple Valley and Burnsville fields. Upon approval, we will circulate the plan to VAA’s membership, and it will be posted on our website. We will certainly emphasize this again when the plan is circulated, but it will be very important that VAA’s participants, families and all of our volunteers strictly comply with our operational and safety guidelines to help ensure the safe return to activities and to ensure our continued access to fields and facilities.

At this time, our only active programs are traveling baseball, Fusion softball and lacrosse. Before we have a return-to-play plan from the State, we do have access to some facilities, such as batting cages, and we have been working closely with our traveling baseball, Fusion and lacrosse programs to prepare plans for a gradual return to activities.  Communications and plans have already been submitted to our traveling baseball and Fusion families, and we hope to have plans in the near future for lacrosse.  However, at this time, lacrosse remains on hold.

While there is still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the remainder of the spring and summer seasons, we are working hard to get our kids back onto the fields in safe manner and in a manner that will provide a meaningful opportunity for our kids’ athletic and social development.  I want to extend a personal thank you from myself, the VAA board of directors and our sports’ commissioners for your continued patience.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at jason.hill@vaasports.org. 

Be well.

Jason Hill, VAA President

WELCOME TO THE HOME OF VALLEY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION!