Controversy over AIA mask mandate during competition
Basketball, soccer and wrestling are all high impact aerobic activities.
How long will the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s mask mandate for athletes during competition hold up?
Will it last through the season, which officially can start Monday?
Will the AIA Executive Board vote to drop the mandate?
Will teams lose athletes over it because of parents’ concerns over health risks, especially those who suffer from asthma?
These are concerns coaches, parents and athletes already are processing after Tuesday’s flip vote by the Executive Board that restored AIA winter sports with games and matches beginning as soon as Monday.
The reversal came four days after a 5-4 vote to cancel the winter season.
AIA Executive Director David Hines said there are no plans for the board to vote on dropping the mask mandate for athletes during competition.
“I have been contacted by most of my parents about the girls having to wear a mask during play and they have expressed great concern as to the health and safety of their kids, as they feel it is extremely unhealthy for them to be doing this,” said Ed Marquez, Mohave Valley River Valley girls soccer coach. “After thinking about it, I almost wonder if the mask mandate is being used as a deterrent to have teams quit or have athletes quit so this way the schools will not have enough players to field a team. Even with the reinstatement of the season, it appears as if they have found another way to do away with the winter season.”
After a whirlwind weekend, when some coaches were expressing emotional goodbyes to their athletes only to see the decision reversed Tuesday,there are those who would do anything just to play as the pandemic continues its surge as vaccines are folling out.
“Chandler will wear hazmat suits and wrestle in the parking lot if that is what it takes,” Chandler wrestling coach Vidal Mejia said. “As long as all schools and athletes have the same rules, I am OK with it. I am grateful we get to have a season.”
Peoria Liberty girls soccer coach Kyle Pooler realizes there will be tighter restrictions in order to play, but he says, “Let’s play.” “I am glad they decided to come back to the table for the athletes,” he said. “I think at this point if they asked me to wear a pink tutu so my girls could play I would do that. I am OK with all the restriction and so are my athletes.”
But there are concerns. Peoria boys basketball coach Patrick Battillo said one of his asthmatic players struggled with the mask during Tuesday’s practice after the mandate was adopted.
He cited the CDC’s guidelines regarding masks during high-intensity masks get wet:
• Masks should be used in public settings, but if you are unable to wear a mask because of difficulty breathing during high intensity activities, choose a location with greater ventilation and air exchange (for instance, outdoors versus indoors) and where you can keep at least 6 feet from others in activities
• If you are able to wear a mask, remove your mask if it gets moist from sweat and replace it with a clean mask.
• Opt for an activity that does not require using mouth guards or helmets. Wearing a mask with these types of protective equipment is not safe if it makes it hard to breathe.
• Supervise children who are wearing a mask while playing sports.
“It is a major concern for sure,” Battillo said.
Mayo Clinic Health System reported: “New research has shown that your heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, oxygen level and time of exhaustion are not significantly affected by wearing a mask during moderate to strenuous aerobic physical activity.”
Mesa Desert Ridge wrestling coach Travis Jackson doesn’t believe it is safe to wear a mask for his sport.
“I may be see it helping in a match for one dual,” he said. “However, for a two-hour practice, I do not believe it to be safe or sanitary.”
Queen Creek Casteel wrestling coach Bob Callison said he is grateful to have a season, adding his wrestlers have been working out in masks.
“Wrestling with a mask on is hard as heck, and anybody that has ever wrestled before will tell you they need every ounce of oxygen they can get in their body for their best performance,” Callison said. “That being said, we have practiced with our mask on and they stay on better than you would think. It is not ideal, but then again we are not in an ideal situation in regards to COVID-19.
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