Visit Oceanside Adapts Youth Sports App, Injurefree,
for Covid Monitoring to Bring Events Back Safely
U.S. Police and Fire Championships may be the first Oceanside event to use the platform
Oceanside, Calif.- November 18, 2020—In an effort to more quickly reopen Oceanside for sporting events, Visit Oceanside is the first destination in California to partner with InjureFree, a web-based risk management platform for COVID-19 tracking and response.
Stressing the need to safely resume sporting and other events as essential to tourism recovery, Visit Oceanside says InjureFree’s technology is an important factor in being able to hold events while protecting the health and safety of those involved and the surrounding community.
“The meetings and events industry needs to get back to business for the health of our industry and economy,” said Leslee Gaul, CEO of Visit Oceanside. “The only way we can do that is to have robust coronavirus safety procedures in place. InjureFree is a big part of the solution by making it possible to mitigate the risks involved when participating in sporting events. We are hopeful this will show the state and county health how serious we are about supporting safe events.”
InjureFree’s non-invasive COVID-19 monitoring and tracking service requires anyone associated with an event— including participants, players, coaches, organizers, volunteers, and more— to provide real time wellness information through an app. Based on information provided, the system alerts administrators when someone may be at risk for the illness. This reporting not only documents symptoms, but also delivers and tracks required education or testing and connects all care givers so that everyone involved is informed and aware of the person’s status. The InjureFree system can also be used as a contact tracing tool.
Organizers of the U.S. Police and Fire Championships (USPFC), which are partially held in Oceanside, have expressed interest in using the InjureFree app as a means to ensure fun and safe games for 2021.
“Kudos to Visit Oceanside for being proactive and providing this creative partnership option,” said U.S. Police and Fire Championships Games Manager Lisa Freedman.
“We are hopeful that state, county and city government officials take this into consideration when making decisions about the timeline for re-opening events in California and San Diego.”
“The USPFC is currently planning to host our event in 2021, and the health and safety of all those involved is our top priority. We have drafted operational policies and procedures based on the most up-to-date information with respect to COVID-19. These documents are fluid and will be updated and shared as information and re-opening plans emerge and change,” she said.
Developed in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, InjureFree was initially created as a tool for monitoring youth sports injuries such as concussions. The web-based injury reporting platform added the COVID-19 monitoring this year in response to the pandemic.
Visit Oceanside’s InjureFree partnership is an initiative of its newly formalized sports commission division. Led by Ashley Goodrich, who was contracted by Visit Oceanside earlier this year, the commission focuses on bringing new, tourism-driving sporting events to the City. The city’s robust year-round calendar of events includes prestigious citywides such as Oceanside Ironman 70.3, Race Across America, Super Girl Surf Pro and Beach Soccer Championships as well as smaller, impactful regional events like Bike the Coast, Oside Turkey Trot and a variety of youth soccer tournaments. Currently, California’s coronavirus restrictions do not permit group events.
“In addition to the application for existing events, InjureFree will potentially give us an advantage when bidding on new business,” said Gaul. “It’s about feeling confident and secure in the ability for a destination to host safe events and gatherings; the potential for us goes beyond just sporting events. We are excited about the future of this partnership.”
