Guidelines for Measures Against Covid-19

(Supervised by Dr. Koji Sasaki, Central Health Promotion Center, Sapporo Sport Association) November 25th, 2022

These guidelines are based on the "Guidelines Against Covid-19 (3rd Edition, revised on January 18th, 2022)" of the Ski Association of Japan and “Guidelines Against Covid-19 (1st Edition, revised on December 9th, 2020) of the Cross-country Skiing Commission in the Competition Headquarters in order to ensure the safety of participants, other parties involved in the competition, and citizens. It was created under the supervision of a doctor of the Sapporo Sport Association. We kindly ask for your cooperation in reading the following items carefully and agreeing to the contents before participating.
Please note that these guidelines are based on the situation as of November 25th, 2022, and may be changed depending on the situation of Covid-19 in the future and requests from the government and local governments.

Basic policy for measures against Covid-19

Prior notice of participation suspension conditions
Thorough measures against Covid-19
Venue planning and management method based on measures against Covid-19
Understanding the health status of participants and all persons concerned

1 Prior notice of conditions for suspension of participation

(1) Participation will not be accepted if any of the following items apply within14 days before the race day.

Fever (37℃ or higher)
Common cold symptoms such as coughing, sore throat and so on
Feeling fatigue, breathlessness
Smell disorder, taste disorder
Feeling sluggish, easy to get tired

(2) Participation conditions for persons with Covid-19, disease carriers and close contact persons

Infected persons with symptoms:14 days passed after symptoms occurred and 72 hours passed after symptoms improved
Infected persons with no symptoms (disease carriers): 14 days passed after your sample was taken and certified positive
Close contact persons: 10 days or more days passed after the day you were exposed to the virus at the latest (contacted an infected person)

(3) Regarding health observation records and temperature measurement results

If any of the items in the health checklist apply to you, you will not be allowed to participate in the race.
If you feel sick on the race day, you will not be allowed to participate in the race.
If you have a fever (37.5℃ or higher), you will not be allowed to participate in the race.

(4) Non-cooperation: Participation is not accepted.

If you do not cooperate with the health checklist, or if you do not cooperate with the temperature measurement at the venue, or if any of these contents are found to be false or fraudulent.
If you do not cooperate in wearing a mask except during competition.
If you do not follow the instructions of the competition officials and the competition management staff and do not cooperate in smooth competition management.

(5) False declaration: Participation is not accepted.

When false content is found in the health observation record or the content of the declaration. In that case, participation in the next tournament will not be permitted.

2 Thorough measures against Covid-19

(1) Wearing masks by participants

Participants are requested to always wear a mask except during the competition, warming-up and cooldown.
(In the open-air area, a face mask or neck warmer are allowed in order to prevent from coldness or strong winds)
When you don’t wear a mask, refrain from talking with someone in person and pay attention to having a distance from others.

(2) Encouragement of hand washing and hand disinfection

Disinfectants and soaps will be placed in multiple places in the venue to encourage participants and related parties to disinfect their hands and fingers.

(3) Thorough infection control measures for related parties

Don't shout.
In the venue, keep a distance of 1 m or more from others.
It is recommended that you do not handle lost items such as trash and masks with your bare hands, but use tools such as vinyl gloves to collect them.
If you feel any change in your physical condition, report it to the Sapporo Marathon Office immediately.

(4) About vaccination

We recommend that you receive a coronavirus vaccination before the race, if possible.

(5) Others

Those who are 65 years of age or older or who have an underlying illness should be aware that there is a high risk of severity due to infection.
Depending on the spread of Covid-19, participants may be required to submit a negative certificate such as a PCR test.

3 Venue planning and management method based on measures against Covid-19

(1) Start area

Please wear a mask except during the race. A neck warmer is available.
When you do warming-up, you are allowed to take off a mask after making enough distance from others.
Keep 1-2 m of distance between skiers or among coaches or service staff members.
Manage and dispose of used masks and used Kleenex.

(2) Goal area

Keep 1-2 m of distance from others when you are out of the official finish area.
When you are offered food and drinks, use a disposable bag after disinfecting your hands.

(3) Rooms

Disinfectants are placed at the entrance.
While you are in any room, the room is ventilated every 30 min or more often for 5 min or longer.

(4) Awards ceremony

Both awardees and awarders are requested to wear gloves.
Disinfect hands before the awards ceremony and do not shake hands nor hug others.

(5) Eating and drinking

Eat and drink in a designated area.
Participants and staff members should individually eat and drink. In an unavoidable situation, keep 1-2 m of distance, do not eat and drink face to face, and refrain from talking with others

4 Understanding the health status of participants

(1) Period of health observation
From 1 week before the race (January 22nd, 2023) to 2 weeks after the race (February 19th) Spectators are requested to measure their body temperature on the race day.

(2) Questions to grasp the health condition (planned)
① I have a sore throat
② I have a cough
③ Sputum (phlegm) comes out or gets tangled in the throat
④ I have a runny nose or stuffy nose (excluding allergic reactions)
⑤ My head hurts
⑥ I feel tired
⑦ I have fever symptoms
⑧ I have breathlessness
⑨ Abnormal taste (no taste)
⑩ Abnormal sense of smell (no smell)
⑪ Taking drugs (drugs that relieve the above symptoms, including antipyretics)
⑫ Body temperature

(3) Recording method, submission destination

Participants record their physical condition and fill it in the health checklist, then submit it to the organizer. Participation will not be accepted unless the health checklist is submitted.
Participation will not be accepted if a fever is 37.5℃ or higher, or an abnormal health condition is confirmed, or if a fever is confirmed by the temperature measurement at the reception.
In addition, the people involved in the race will manage their physical condition in the same way and prove to the organizer that there is no problem on the race day.
Check your physical condition for up to 2 weeks after the race, and report to the organizer if infection with Covid-19 is found, then cooperate with the necessary investigation.

(4) What to do if someone feels unwell on the day of the race
Regardless of the participants or those involved in the race, if a person who is in poor physical condition is found on the day of the race, the nearest management staff will promptly report it to the Sapporo International Ski Marathon Office. If infection with Covid-19 is suspected, we will order the suspension of participation in the race (in the case of related parties, suspension of business), take necessary measures such as quarantine at the discretion of the doctor in charge of the race.

(5) On the day of the Trial run, you are requested to take your body temperature when you enter the venue.

Regulations for canceling the race related to Covid-19

In the following cases, we may decide to cancel the race.

If the government or the local government issues the declaration for strengthening measures against Covid-19
When the organizer determines that it is difficult to hold a safe event based on the risk of spreading the infection.