School district announces COVID-19 rules for winter sports and activities

Dec. 2, 2021  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

Harwood senior Ashley Proteau goes in for a shot against Middlebury in a game last winter. File photo by Sarah Milligan.

As student athletes begin practices this week for winter sports, Harwood Union school officials Wednesday released details on the public health guidance both athletes and spectators will be asked to follow to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. 

The guidance focuses on indoor sports given the season which includes ice hockey, basketball, wrestling and gymnastics. The measures also apply to extracurricular activities. 

In several key ways, this season’s COVID protocols, which are based on state Agency of Education guidance, are less restrictive than winter 2020. 

The biggest difference is that spectators will be allowed at sporting events, at least as the season begins and as long as they follow the rules. 

The announcement of Indoor Winter Sports/Extracurricular Event Expectations however carries a strong caveat that things could change: “Given the dynamic nature of this pandemic, these expectations are subject to change based on rates of community transmission, state and federal guidance, and other unforeseen factors,” the memo states. 

Harwood Athletic Director Chris Langevin said another key shift from last winter is that wrestling and indoor track competitions will be allowed without masks. Last winter before vaccines were available for students, close-contact and indoor sports where masks weren’t practical were not allowed to go forward. 

“There's definitely some winter sports progress being made in the recommendations from the AOE,” Langevin said. 

Masks indoors for all

School officials said the season’s guidance was developed “in collaboration with other school districts in our region.”

First and foremost, everyone is required to wear masks – “all student-athletes, coaches, referees and spectators during indoor practices, competitions, and games, regardless of individual vaccination status.” 

The guidance has little specific requirements for outdoor winter sports such as alpine and Nordic skiing other than to say that masks are not required for outdoor sports unless student-athletes are indoors for dryland training.

Otherwise, there are a few very specific exceptions regarding masks: 

• Athletes participating in indoor track events – both practice sessions and meets/competitions – so long as physical distancing is maintained between individuals using staggered starts or other means

• Athletes participating in wrestling, gymnastics, cheer and dance skills, and events that require inversion (i.e., wrestling, tumbling, vaulting, bars, etc.)

As for spectators, capacity will not be limited at events as long as spectators wear masks and distance themselves from each other by staying in family groups. Again, there’s a caveat: “If expectations are not followed, future events may shift to limited spectators or none at all,” the memo states. 

People will be allowed to remove masks when they are eating in designated eating areas. 

Addressing the issue of COVID-19 exposure at a sporting event, the advice notes that spectator areas will have signage to identify seating areas that spectators should observe. Those details will be used should contact tracing need to occur following any reports of COVID exposure. 

“Please note that currently, the Vermont Department of Health has indicated that due to the large number of COVID-19 cases, the Health Department is limited in the contact tracing they are able to conduct,” the memo explains. 

Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 after attending a school event when they were likely infections (two days prior to a test if asymptomatic; two days prior to start of symptoms if symptomatic) is asked to contact the district’s COVID coordinator, Allison Conyers, at aconyers@huusd.org, 802-583-8027.

Vaccinations play a role 

Sporting and extracurricular events will not involve any checks on vaccination status, the guidance notes. However the school district’s general protocol requiring anyone visiting schools indoors during the school day must be vaccinated. 

Instructions shared with winter student athletes outline details around COVID-19 vaccinations and testing. It strongly recommends that all eligible student-athletes get vaccinated. “Vaccination is a proven mitigation strategy and will ultimately ensure athletes can stay in school and compete safely throughout the season,” the information states.  

Any student-athletes who are unvaccinated and those who participate in activities where masks cannot be consistently worn indoors – they specify wrestling and gymnastics – will need weekly COVID-19 tests through the school’s surveillance testing program, school officials said. 

And should there be exposure to someone who tests positive for COVID-19, just as in the regular course of school vaccinated individuals will not need to quarantine. Unvaccinated athletes who are exposed will need to sign up for response testing, the district’s program using daily rapid tests to allow students to continue to attend school and activities while monitoring after an exposure. 

Find the HUUSD’s winter sports and activities expectations memo online here.