Several golfers enjoyed the warm, sunny weather by visiting the Snohomish Valley Golf Center’s driving range back on Saturday, May 9, the week when golf was reopened to the public, to take advantage of the opening of some recreational facilities.
Doug Ramsay
SNOHOMISH COUNTY — Tennis, motorsports and guided outdoor sports such as river rafting got the green light, with limitations, from Gov. Jay Inslee late last week.
Tennis lessons, racing at a go-kart track, and guided horseback tours are back in action. Golf, fishing and recreational exploring already have been allowed for a few weeks now, except camping, in western Washington.
The state’s social distancing rules are in effect for all. Participants will be required to be logged as part of the state’s larger contact tracing efforts. “Users need to bring their own pens to sign waivers,” a rulesheet from the governor’s office states.
Evergreen Speedway is excited to reopen for practice runs, but things will be a little different: The grandstands are closed to spectators, and weekly racing isn’t beginning quite yet.
At press time, the speedway has weekend open drift and autocross events scheduled. (Autocross has one racer at a time go through a technical course competing against the clock.)
Go-kart tracks will be considered an in-and-out event when they open: Come to race, but leave when you’re done.
For tennis, players will be required to bring their own tennis balls, the rulebook states. “Only singles tennis is allowed if players are from different households. Doubles tennis only allowed when all four members are from the same household.”
The U.S. Tennis Association says in a guideline sheet to bring multiple balls and to consider wearing gloves and using a new racket grip. It notes in that sheet that “although unlikely, it’s possible that a tennis ball can transmit the COVID-19 virus, as virtually any hard surface can transmit the disease.”
Guided fishing tours will be limited to just two clients from the same household, and everyone on the boat must wear a mask. The Puget Sound region is reopening slowest as it is in its first phase of what Inslee calls the “Safe Start” tiers. Smaller counties are moving into future phases. In the next phase, more people will be allowed in the boat, mixing them with up to two households.
The tour companies will be required to cancel and reschedule customer reservations if someone in the group has a fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle aches, or new loss of taste or smell, which are all signs of COVID-19.
