Tripp Walker
Reporter
Since the beginning of the calendar year, the COVID - 19 “coronavirus," has spread across the country. In turn, various precautions and regulations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were set in place to combat COVID - 19. To many, this is not “fresh” news.
With the 2020 - 2021 school year approaching, rumors circulated as to whether students would be back in classrooms on August 3. For many, sports and extra-curricular activities seemed out of the question.
However, around the beginning of June, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) announced that high school sports could begin practicing in Tennessee. On July 22, TSSAA confirmed that sports could continue this fall as long as the league abided by COVID - 19 guidelines from the CDC. School is now back in session. The transition to sports playing in line with COVID-19 regulation appears smooth to most but be assured there are many moving parts at play.
“All our sports have full schedules. COVID-driven restrictions have changed how we manage home contests. (limited number in attendance, social distancing markings, temp checks, face coverings, and no post-game gatherings … which kills Stowe)” athletic director, Blaine Mahaffey said.
Many physical contact sports, such as girls soccer and football, received more rules from the TSSAA than other non-physical sports. These additional rules affect the way physical contact sports can and cannot practice; that means completely halting some drills and mending other drills.
“We consciously avoid putting the players in situations where they have to be in close proximity to one another for extended periods of time,” girls head soccer coach, Musa Manneh said.
Within the last month, it is no secret many students at DHS have been forced to quarantine themselves for two weeks at home when coming into contact with COVID-19 victims. Many of these “quarantined” casualties include members of sports teams at DHS. In the past month, two sports games were canceled at DHS due to too many players being quarantined.
“There is no set number (of quarantined students to cancel a game). Between coaches and administration, a decision is made based solely on the safety of our student-athletes. It comes down to a depth issue.” Blaine Mahaffy said.
However as of the writing of this article, few students, currently on a sports team, have contracted the COVID-19. However, when a player does fall victim to COVID-19, this does not mean that the whole team must quarantine.
“We go to the contact tracing method to see if any, or how many, are impacted by a positive case. Again, student safety is our top priority.” Blaine Mahaffy said.
Although change in sports is not typically welcomed, it is always inevitable.
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