BERKELEY – The California rugby team returned to Berkeley in mid-January and completed a seven-day sequester period while undergoing the beginning of daily testing. Now out of sequester, the team is engaged in a multi-week reconditioning period. Having not played or trained since early March 2020, it has been decided the team should follow a gradual reconditioning curriculum prior to commencing full rugby training.

All the while, rugby student-athletes are required to undergo daily testing as the sport is considered high-risk for COVID. The testing program is a combination of antigen rapid tests and PCR tests, some days both.
 
"The core of our health department exemption allowing us to train is daily testing," head coach Jack Clark said. "Whereas a couple or few tests a week might work for tennis and golf this spring, it has been determined that rugby will be required to test daily and it makes perfect sense to us. Our student-athlete care concerns go beyond COVID-19. We also want to be careful to not rush our reconditioning."
 
Beyond strict testing, there have been significant changes in the rugby training process. To start, every minute of team assembly is outside, never indoors. The team will forego the use of its locker and meeting rooms, as well as medical and strength conditioning facilities in the Simpson Center for High Performance. Outdoor facilities have been created for standard medical prevention and treatments, along with a strength training zone. The team has been using new procedures for laundry, hydration and grab-and-go-meals. Furthermore, members of the team begin their day with daily symptom screening before heading to the testing site. Student-athletes display a color-coded status badge on their phones to enter the testing and outdoor athletic facilities. Walking within the facilities involves path of travel rules meant to mitigate opposing directions, and masks are mandatory at all times.
 
"We have created a daily training environment, which is as virus-safe as possible," Clark said. "Our players know that it is when they leave our complex and enter the general public, to include the company of their friends, when they are most at risk and when an individual could potentially bring the virus to our training environment. Needless to say, beyond our rugby, we do not want to be part of community virus spread."
 
Even with a cautious return to training, the 2021 spring season has uncertainties. Cal will need to find other universities and rugby teams committed to a similar COVID-19 prevention and testing plan that the Bears are implementing for the potential contests to be considered safe. At this point in time, no matches have been scheduled. The soonest the team could play will likely be towards the middle of March.
 
"We are cautiously returning to training because we believe it benefits the well-being of our student-athletes who opted-in to the spring training process," Clark noted. "This said, we are interested in providing our best leadership to the collegiate rugby community. We do not want any team to rush their return to play without an institutionally thoughtful and department of health vetted approach."