April 30, 2021

We hate to break bad news… but the DCGFFL was forced to cancel our tentative Spring Fling tournament, as DC will not issue permits. For silver linings, here’s what else to look forward to:

Why no Spring Fling?

Here’s the long and short of it:

  • The DCGFFL Board proactively pursued permits to hold the event at Carter Barron, based on interpretation of DC’s spring COVID-19 guidelines (Mayor’s Order 2021-038) in order to be ready if we got the green light.
  • However, yesterday the DC Department of Parks and Recreation relayed the following definitive position: “All types of football (and soccer) are considered High Contact sports so while we would permit these sports for groups under 50, it would not be for games (or scrimmages) only for non-contact drills and practices where distancing and no contact occurs.”
  • Although DC’s general COVID-19 guidelines are gradually relaxing (per Mayor’s Order 2021-060 on April 26), DC DPR does not expect to change the above position on permitting sports while we remain in Phase II of reopening; it is not expected that DC will leave Phase II by the date of the event.
  • Aside from these and other DC fields, we also investigated nearby options in VA (Arlington) and MD (Montgomery County), but limitations on field availability and residency requirements made these options infeasible.
  • Considering all the above, the DCGFFL Board concluded that early cancelation would be much preferred to waiting until last minute to cancel, to minimize the impact to the community. We are grateful to those 124 players who registered and we will continue to look forward to “getting off the bench and into the game!”

So, what’s next?

The DCGFFL will pivot to planning for Beach Bowl (August 7th) and the fall season (starting just after Labor Day)! Beach Bowl is a one-day casual round robin tournament held in Rehoboth, DE. Stay tuned for updates.