COVID-19 & Why We Aren't Planning to Reopen Before A Vaccine is Widely Available

Hey Nerd-Fam,

I’m here today to give you a heads up - DR Arkansas, based on current knowledge, isn’t going to re-open for in-person events until there’s a COVID-19 vaccine widely available.

UAMS (a hospital college here in AR) recently came out with guidelines on how to safely start back up team-sports; and due to some jurisdictional kerfuffle the full guidelines aren’t available while the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) reviews them and finalizes their own official guidelines.

However - here are the elements that guideline considers:

  • Education for coaches and staff

  • Quarantine and screening guidelines, plus what to do if a team member tests positive

  • Advice for pre-participation screening during physicals

  • Guidelines for home life and safe living situations for student-athletes to limit the potential for disease spread

  • Tips on team meals, transportation, on-field hydration

  • Equipment disinfection

  • Best staff and management practices, such as continuing to conduct meetings remotely when possible

  • Guidelines for locker rooms and training rooms

  • Recommendations on vaccinations

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So! The risks obviously go up the more people you have involved. Most team sports in America range from 5-11 people. Our history shows somewhere between 40-100 people attend our events.

Pre-screening for symptoms will only find symptomatic people and most studies show that about 44% of cases present without symptoms (asymptomatic).

Equipment disinfection would be….a nightmare if not practically impossible for a larp. Imagine an NPC weapon going out and hitting 20 people - but what if the first one is positive for COVID-19? MAYBE those other 19 people won’t catch it….but what if they do?

Given these factors, and the fact that we just can’t live with ourselves if anyone caught and suffered through a severe case of COVID-19 due to one of our events…we’re just not a normal business and so we aren’t going to be able to re-open safely while the rest of the nation does. Not with the information we have at hand.



We love all of you, and we’ll weather this together. <3

-Krista, Ro, Truate & Beth