Fall sports are on and different, like everything else
August 15, 2020 | By Lisa Scagliotti
Harwood Union schools will still run a number of fall sports, including soccer, with some modifications to account for COVID-19 health concerns. File photo by Gordon Miller.
Fall school sports are on for a shorter-than-usual season and one that promises more requirements for health and safety than players, coaches and spectators have ever seen.
On Tuesday, state officials released three pages of general guidance addressing fall sports for programs with youth from kindergarten through high school, in both public and private schools.
In keeping with guidance already issued, practices may not start before Sept. 8, the first day of school for the 2020-21 academic year.
The broad guidelines cover some key public health recommendations to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus such as mask-wearing by all players, coaches, staff, officials and even spectators, including during play. The one exception is cross-country runners as long as they can maintain distance from each other by using staggered starts at races, for example.
Competitions may happen when schools enter the Step III phase of return -- that’s the most open model with the fewest health-related restrictions on schools operating. Schools are opening in the Step II or hybrid phase with combinations of in-school and remote learning. The state guidance on athletics suggests they will be in that phase for at least the first two weeks of school.
Also, if and when schools might need to shift to what educators are referring to as Step I -- the model where school buildings are closed and all learning is remote -- athletics would also halt, the state information says.
The guidelines acknowledge that the risk of transmitting the virus varies by sport. “The risk associated with different types of sports programs is a function of the degree of contact between participants and the type of setting or venue in which the contest is held,” the document states.
Harwood Union’s Athletic Director Chris Langevin oversees athletic programs for grades 7-12. He said this week that he and coaching staff are reviewing the state guidelines to put together information for each of the fall sports programs.
Vermont’s high school fall sports are golf, football, soccer, volleyball, cross-country, field hockey, cheerleading and bass fishing.
“The Harwood Athletic Department is working on the specifics for the district and the information will come out as soon as possible,” Langevin said this week. “I can confirm that tryouts and practices begin on September 8th.”
The same goes for middle school athletics, he added.
The state guidance differentiates among sports based on contact and where they are played. For example, it says that outdoor sports involving no or low-contact such as “cross-country running, golf and bass fishing may hold team practice sessions and interscholastic meets/competitions.”
Meets or competitions must not exceed 150 people total in adherence with current state public health regulations. That could be done by stretching out a schedule and staggering competitors so they are not all present at the same time if possible. Organizers also need to keep a list of participants for contact tracing should that information be needed, it says.
Soccer and field hockey are described as “outdoor sports involving short-duration, incidental contact” and they may have practices, scrimmages and games but not “jamboree” events with many teams.
The state guidance on volleyball and football is trickier. It says volleyball may hold indoor practices “limited to no and low contact physical conditioning and skill-building drills.” Indoor scrimmages within a school program if all participants (players and coaches) wear cloth facing coverings at all times while play is occurring.
Outdoor matches with teams from other schools would be allowed if everyone was masked during play, it states.
Football and cheerleading are in the “high-contact” category and so far are limited to practices and “no to low-contact physical conditioning and skill-building drills.”
The key directive that’s gotten the most attention this week is the guidance that full-contact football scrimmages and games will not be allowed this fall. Neither will “cheer stunting.”
“Low contact alternatives, such as 7-on-7 football or sideline cheer, may be considered,” the guidance states with face coverings for all involved and distancing of course.
Harwood does not have cheerleading or football programs although student athletes participate in U-32 High School’s football program.
The state guidance also addresses spectators for indoor and outdoor events, locker room use, handling and cleaning of equipment, restrooms, concession stands and transportation.
The document closes with a note that guidelines for winter school sports programs will be published by October 15.