STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is initiating a statewide social media campaign, #TeamUpToBeatCOVID, in efforts to enhance the likelihood of returning to school and school activities by following safe practices to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

The WIAA is encouraging all Wisconsinites to practice social distancing, wear a mask while in public, wash or disinfect your hands often, frequently disinfect commonly touched surfaces, stay home if you feel sick and contact your physician if you experience any symptoms of COVID-19. All Wisconsin students, student-athletes, former student-athletes, schools, teachers, athletes, coaches, musicians, cheerleaders, dancers, officials, booster clubs, parents and all other community members are encouraged to follow safe practices and participate in the campaign.

There are two ways to participate in this campaign.

First, post on your own social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by using the hashtag, #TeamUpToBeatCOVID or sharing WIAA posts. The WIAA will also retweet/share Twitter and Instagram posts from the public that tag @wiaawi and use #TeamUpToBeatCOVID. Statements on what you/your staff or family are doing to help stop the spread, or images of mask wearing or social distancing during athletics or other activities are just two examples of content that will help promote this initiative. Creativity in messaging is encouraged.

Second, schools, current and former student-athletes voices can be represented by submitting content to be posted on the WIAA social media accounts. We invite any student to provide the following information and content to the WIAA office to be used in social media posts:

* Student name, school, grade and sports/activities they participate in

* Short statement, 1-3 sentences long, on “What does a return to school and to schools sports this year mean to you?”

* Photo of wearing a mask while wearing their jersey or practice outfit, while holding ball/equipment, or a  photo at practice/contact days while practicing social distancing/wearing a mask (OR a                     photo of them with jersey, equipment or photo from the previous season)

Schools can submit photos from contact days or practices with athletes social distancing, wearing masks or following other safe practices. Those wishing to participate should send the content to Megan Loken at [email protected]. Statements and/or images will be used to create graphics and share them from WIAA social media platforms.

We’re all in this together. Let’s team up to beat COVID-19!

# WIAA #