Mats, pads and locker rooms — where MRSA and ringworm actually spread.

What actually applies to you

Three separate systems govern your facility, and they don't agree with each other. Sorting that out is most of the value here.

1. The competition rules — binding on your athletes

NFHS Wrestling Rule 4-2-3: a wrestler suspected of a communicable skin disease must produce written documentation from a health-care professional, furnished at the weigh-in, stating the condition is not communicable. And critically:

"Covering a communicable condition shall not be considered acceptable."

UIL adopts NFHS — UIL Constitution & Contest Rules §1350(f) provides that UIL tournaments are conducted under National Federation rules. So NFHS Rule 4-2 is the operative standard in Texas high school wrestling.

NFHS Medical Release Form (rev. April 2025) — minimum time before return:

For Texas colleges — NCAA/NCWWC 2025-26 Rule 1-2-1 is the most explicit mat rule in existence: mats "required" to be cleaned and disinfected prior to each day of competition, and recommended before subsequent rounds. Rule 6-1-21: blood on the mat cleaned and disinfected before the match resumes.

2. The Texas school rule — and the gap

25 TAC §97.7 requires school administrators to exclude a child with a communicable condition. Per the DSHS chart (rev. 3/4/2024): ringworm — no exclusion if it can be covered, otherwise readmit once treatment has begun. Impetigo — readmit when drainage is contained in a clean dry bandage.

Here's the gap, and it's the most useful thing on this page: §97.7 lets a ringworm case back into class the day treatment starts. The NFHS form requires 72 hours of antifungal — 14 days for scalp — before that same athlete returns to the mat, and forbids covering it. A school can be perfectly §97.7-compliant and still forfeit a match.

There is no athletics-specific Texas exclusion rule. §97.7 is it. The stricter standard comes from the governing body, not the state.

3. Facility cleaning — mostly guidance, and I'll say so

UIL Wrestling Manual, "Guidelines to Reduce the Incidence of Skin Disease":

"Clean wrestling mats daily, preferably within one hour of practice or competition, using a disinfectant cleaner. Allow mats to air dry before using."

Also: disinfect mats 1–2× weekly, wipe weight-room benches before and after use, launder practice gear after each use, disinfect headgear and shoes after practice, shower after every practice.

UIL Blood Clean Up Procedures call for a bleach solution at mat side and require gloves for anyone removing blood.

These are titled Guidelines. UIL has no rule mandating a cleaning frequency, product, or contact time. I'd rather tell you that than pretend otherwise — the reason to clean the mat daily is that it works, not that you'll be penalized.

NATA Position Statement (2010) is the strongest disinfectant-specific citation available:

"Daily cleaning of the mats with chlorine-containing disinfectant sprays, at least during the course of the competitive season, is recommended."

"The type of disinfectant… should be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, and the manufacturer's recommendations for amount, dilution, and contact time should be followed."

CDC MRSA guidance for athletic facilities (reviewed June 2025) — and this one cuts against a lot of chemical marketing, including some of mine if I weren't careful:

"Products effective against Staphylococcus aureus are sufficient to kill MRSA."

"There is little evidence that large-scale use of disinfectants will prevent MRSA infections better than a targeted approach of cleaning surfaces."

So I'm not going to sell you exotic chemistry. The differentiator is contact time and targeting the surfaces that touch bare skin — which is exactly what CDC says works.

4. Bloodborne pathogens — depends who signs the checks

• Private gyms, health clubs, private schools, club programs → OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030 applies directly. Written exposure control plan, free PPE, surfaces decontaminated "with an appropriate disinfectant."
• Public ISDs, community colleges, public universities → federal OSHA does not reach you. An OSHA interpretation letter from September 25, 2000 — written about Texas athletic trainers specifically — says so. You're covered instead by Health & Safety Code §81.304 / 25 TAC Ch. 96, with the DSHS model plan.

Note that OSHA says "an appropriate disinfectant." There is no such thing as an OSHA-approved disinfectant. EPA registers products; OSHA doesn't. Any rep telling you a product "meets OSHA requirements" is selling you a phrase that doesn't exist.

The claims rule

Only claim MRSA if the product is on EPA List H. Only claim HIV/HBV/HCV if it's on List S. Off-label public health claims violate FIFRA. [LIST: confirm which SKUs appear on List H and List S]