No masking a poorly written bit of guidance
After nearly seven months without a single event being contested inside the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, games and events returned on a limited basis at the end of September.
As the nation continues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, NYSPHSAA athletic schedules this fall have been altered tremendously. Three of the state’s 11 sections are not competing at all during the fall.
Football, boys’ volleyball, girls’ volleyball and competitive cheer are not being contested
statewide during the fall, instead shifted from March through May — if possible. Other sports, deemed moderate-risk and low-risk, are being played at varying degrees of participation.
Out of the eight Section II leagues, just two are playing this fall in boys’ and girls’ soccer: the Patroon Conference and the Suburban Council.
Having already watched the entire spring season wiped out, the NYSPHSAA is following the mandates laid down by the New
York State Department of Health in order to compete during the fall. The biggest adjustment is athletes having to practice and play while wearing masks.
The thing is, right now not every athlete is actually wearing a mask when competing. Most are, yet some are not and the rules actually allow for this.
The second paragraph under Physical Distancing issued in an Aug. 15 message from the NYSDOH entitled the Interim Guidance for Sports and Recreation during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency states the following, “Responsible parties must ensure a distance of at least six feet is maintained among individuals at all times, whether indoor or outdoor, unless safety or the core activity (e.g. practicing, playing) requires shorter distance. If a shorter distance is required, individuals must wear acceptable face coverings, unless players are unable to tolerate a face covering for a physical activity (e.g. practicing, playing), provided, however, that coaches, trainers,
and other individuals who are not engaged in physical activity are required to wear a face covering.”
I have covered four fall events so far, and attended a fifth where I was not writing a story. The vast majority of athletes played the entire time with their mask on. However, in essence, the rule allows any competitor the opportunity to take the field wearing a mask and immediately pull it down the moment competition begins.
This is a rule that is vaguely written and leaves athletic administrators in a helpless position to complain about what an opposing player or team decides to do.
“Our school wants us to wear them 100 percent of the time and that is what we do 100 percent of the time, whether we are on the bench or the field,” said Maple Hill boys’ soccer coach and Patroon Conference league rep
Dan Gillespie.
Tom Husser is the Hoosick Falls girls’ soccer coach, the school’s athletic
director and the Section II girls’ soccer chairman.
The Wasaren League is not playing soccer this fall and is set to compete in Fall Season II in March. He says the ruling from NYSDOH certainly provides a great deal of latitude.
“If you read the policy, all a player has to do is say to a coach, ‘This is not tolerable,’” Husser said regarding wearing a mask. “It is gray. It is not a clearcut thing. ... The key word is intolerable.”
As Gillespie aptly pointed out, the masks are not vital for the players protecting themselves from COVID-19, wearing them is designed to protect others.
In a time when many athletes have been forced to the sideline without any say, should we not do everything within our power to ensure the safety of those actually being allowed to compete? The answer should be yes.