A young Asian woman stretches in a lunge position outside on a running trail. She wears a mask and headphones.

COVID-19: Return to Sports

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Background

In late spring 2020, Permanente Federation found many athletes, from grade school up to professionals, were facing an unprecedented number of safety questions and injuries as they returned to sports. Several key physicians wrote up their best practices for safety protocols and warm-up exercises.

Challenge

Due to the changing nature of the data and science coming from different institutions around the country, the size and scope grew over time. Also, there were many more revisions than a normal brochure and external links changed frequently. Early on the decision was made to provide the information digitally, rather than print, so updates would be faster, easier, and more cost-effective.

Solution

The final publication was 144-page PDF, remediated for digital accessibility. Since its initial release in October 2020, we did an update in Spring 2021.

A page from the guide on mask guidance during sports. The image on the page is of a man on the gymnastics rings wearing a mask.
Mask guidance page from Return to Sports playbook.
A page from the Return to Sports playbook with resources and references, including links. The image is of a masked woman in a gym lifting a kettel bell.
Each section included resources and references with active links.
Introduction page from the COVID-19 brochure with text, footnotes, and an image of a man at a gym wearing a mask and holding a clipboard
Introduction page from the Return to Sports Playbook. Footnotes with links required constant checking, as information changed frequently.
A nutrition page from the Return to Sports playbook. The image is an over-the-shoulder angle of a woman in workout clothes eating a bowl of cereal.
The Playbook included sections on nutrition and mental health.