Officials from the Montgomery County Public Schools gave permission Tuesday night for winter varsity sports — basketball, indoor track, swimming and wrestling — to resume play after a long shutdown forced by the coronavirus.
The decision was announced at Tuesday evening’s school board meeting. Danny Knott, the school system’s director of human resources, told school board members that the county’s rate of positive COVID-19 cases had slowed down allowing a decision to be made. The 14-day infection rate is now below seven percent, he said. He further explained that with the shift away from the agreed-upon criteria for returning to play, decreasing metrics and the mitigation strategies currently in place, the staff felt it was the right time to allow varsity student-athletes to compete.
The decision was also made, however, to shut down middle school and junior varsity sports before they ever got started. They will not be allowed to play. According to Knott, the decision to cancel sports at the lower schools was made because those student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete in future years.
“This was a difficult decision but one that we felt necessary,” Knott said about the decision not to allow middle-school and jayvee teams to play. “Middle school and jayvee teams do not have tournaments at the conclusion of the season,” Knott said. “These student-athletes will now have the opportunity to join fall-season teams and out-of-season practices. This will allow them to begin to prepare for this season in which we plan to participate in competition at all three levels.”
But the lateness of the decision has a bearing on the winter sports. “This is the last week of the regular season for most sports and the week prior to tournament play,” Knott said.
Thus, each county school will play at least five games over the next two weeks against other county schools. Football and volleyball are scheduled to start practice February 2. Play would start two weeks later.
Teams will still be required to wear masks during game play, and daily temperature checks and screenings will continue. No spectators will be allowed at the events, but cameras have been installed in all the high school gymnasiums to allow for public viewing through the National Federal of High School (NFHS) sports network. A small usage fee is charged by the NFHS.
Six feet of separation will be required on the sidelines between athletes and in the bleachers for cheerleaders. Each team will be allowed a senior night which the families of senior athletes can attend in person. Each gym will host only one game/match per evening, allowing for proper cleanings. Teams will come dressed to play and locker rooms will be used for restrooms only.
The Montgomery County school system will continue its current mitigation plan for buses with one student per seat.
Many of the current restrictions will continue into the winter- and spring-season sports.
