By DREW LAWSON
Staff reporter 

WIAA releases return-to-activity guidelines for high school sports

 

Last updated 6/25/2020 at 10:07am



RENTON- The WIAA released guidance for opening high school athletics and activities in accordance with Gov. Jay Inslee’s four-phase state re-opening plan Monday.

The guidance document detailed guidelines for schools for each of the four phases. The document also noted that if a school or school district is closed over COVID-19 concerns, then all training, practices and games for that school or district should be canceled.

Points of emphasis for all four phases included decreasing exposure to respiratory droplets through physical distancing and mask wearing, constant testing for the virus, the possibility of isolation and quarantine by entire teams or students and limited travel.

The WIAA said coaches and athletes should be screened for symptoms of COVID-19 prior to all workouts. Anyone showing symptoms shouldn’t participate.

Good hygiene is another major emphasis. Students can’t share water bottles or use hydration stations. Facilities must be consistently sanitized before, during and after use.


Other points of emphasis include staying home when sick and holding as many activities as possible outdoors.

Lincoln County, which features predominantly 1B and 2B schools such as Reardan, Davenport, Odessa and Lind-Ritzville/Sprague is in Phase 3 and is eligible to apply for Phase 4 on Friday.

Under Phase 3, gatherings would have to be limited to a maximum of 50 people, indoor or outdoor. Indoor activities are required to have space for physical distancing. Competitions are recommended to be limited to “local geography,” and sanitation will continually be stressed.


Under Phase 4, gatherings can be over 50 people, but indoors there must be space for social and physical distancing.

The WIAA also released guidelines specific to each sport within each phase. For example, football, which is considered a “high-risk” sport for transmitting COVID-19, must institute various physical distancing, personal hygiene and sanitation measures in accordance with whatever re-opening phase that team’s school is in. Examples of measures specific to football include the elimination of pre-and-postgame handshakes and each player having their own towel and water bottle.

Reardan co-athletic director Brian Graham told the Davenport Times last week that he is hopeful that fall sports will occur in 2020. However, he also said that if in-person learning is deemed to be unsafe and distance learning is the necessary strategy, then athletics and activities are highly unlikely to occur. This lines up with the WIAA’s guidelines released Monday.


Graham also noted that the school is looking into modified scheduling options in case not all schools on their various schedules can play, or geographical proximity remains an important point of emphasis from the Department of Health and WIAA.

“Maybe (we) play Davenport twice,” Graham said. “Maybe we play a team in Whitman County, (like) Colfax twice.”

Spokane County, which features local schools like Cheney, Medical Lake and Liberty high schools, remains in Phase 2 while COVID-19 cases rise daily.

Under Phase 2, gatherings can’t exceed five people, indoor or outdoor. Locker rooms can’t be used, and there must be a minimum distance of six feet between each individual at all times. Athletic equipment can’t be shared. Clothing can’t be shared between athletes. Workouts are recommended to be “conducted in ‘pods’ of students with the same five students always working out together,” per the WIAA guideline release.


Cheney High School athletic director Jeff Chandler said last week that athletic directors in the Greater Spokane League (GSL) meet weekly with the WIAA. Uncertainty still clouds fall sports at Cheney, as is the case with most high schools.

Chandler hopes to have fall sports, and thinks there will be some semblance of sports as long as the school is open in-person. Chandler brought up cross-country as a sport that could have minimal contact and be a “lower risk” sport, which is in accordance with the WIAA’s guidelines.

There is consideration to move sports to different seasons, such as moving football to winter or spring, but that could become complicated due to the many students who play multiple sports, according to Chandler.

Offseason conditioning is also an important consideration, Chandler said.

“Physical conditioning has to be addressed before we go back to anything,” Chandler said. “Realistically, kids haven’t been doing a whole lot.”

Chandler said nothing has been set in stone yet at Cheney, emphasizing that he hopes to have sports but that the safety of athletes and coaches will also be heavily prioritized. He urged that everyone follow safety guidelines such as wearing a mask , as that could help sway whether high school sports occur or not.

“It’s discouraging to see the case numbers rising in Spokane County,” Chandler said. “That’s obviously got to (change) if we’re going to have anything.”

Drew Lawson can be reached at drew@cheneyfreepress.com.

 

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