State lifts ban on football, other sports
Athletic events held outdoors can resume in counties with less than 14 cases per 100K
High school football and other outdoor sports will be allowed to resume play next week across many parts of California for the first time in nearly a year, the state Department of Public Health announced Friday morning, culminating a monthslong push by return-to-play advocates.
Football, baseball, softball, soccer, water polo and lacrosse all are among the sports allowed to begin competition Friday in any county in the state with a per-capita case rate of fewer than 14 per 100,000 residents; currently 27 of the state’s 58 counties meet that criteria, including all but Contra Costa and Solano counties in the Bay Area.
County health departments could still impose stricter rules than the state’s. Santa Clara County, which has been among the most restrictive in the nation, did not commit Friday to following the state in opening more outdoor sports but did promise more guidance before the new state rules take effect.
Indoor sports were left untouched
in the state guidance, without compelling evidence they can be played safely, a source close to CDPH said. Higher-contact sports that have been approved to play must also adhere to new guidelines, namely a weekly testing regimen.
Gov. Gavin Newsom made the announcement Friday morning at a news conference in Hayward.
“We are now confident with new guidelines that we’re publishing today that we can get youth sports moving again in the state of California,” Newsom said, while thanking leaders from the Let Them Play movement “for their strong advocacy and their support of a process” in determining new guidelines.
Outdoor youth sports below the high school level also are cleared to return under the new guidance, as are adult recreational leagues.
Dr. Tomás Aragón, the state’s public health officer, cited declining rates of infection across the state as a key factor for the timing of the announcement, which return-to-play advocates have been anticipating all week after nearly two months of negotiations.
Some low-contact outdoor sports, such as cross country, already have begun in California. But the ruling is especially crucial for the state’s football programs, which high school officials have said must finish their spring season by April 17 for the regular fall season to start on time. Now, many of California’s 87,000 prep football players should have time to fit in at least five games.
Jake Kern, a senior quarterback at Clayton Valley Charter High School, said his teammates called out of excitement and that the news seemed too good to be true. Clayton Valley isn’t yet approved to play, but Contra Costa County should meet the requirements within a week or two.
“It feels like a win. I am so thankful for all the coaches and the parents and the players who have been fighting for us to play and get this opportunity to get on the field one last time,” Kern said. “Really, everything that has been taken away from us as seniors, getting back on the field is the one thing we could want more than anything.”
California’s high school athletes have been sidelined since last March, but the return-to-play campaign began in earnest this winter when it looked as if many sports may not return until next school year. What began as an effort described as late in the fourth quarter quickly evolved into a twominute drill for return-toplay advocates, who said they got involved to give their kids a voice in Sacramento, where they felt nobody was lobbying for California’s youth in the back and forth over coronavirusfueled health restrictions.
Serra football coach Patrick Walsh’s group of 900plus coaches and Brad Hensley’s coalition of parents that swelled to more than 60,000 quickly converged and by February were meeting regularly with officials from Newsom’s office and the California Department of Public Health.
“We know we were a pain in the neck, for a lack of a better term,” Walsh said. “We pushed hard, we organized and all for the love of kids. That’s the bottom line.”
Football players, as well as athletes who play rugby or water polo, will be required to be tested weekly if their county has a case rate above 7/100K, with tests provided by the state. That is because those sports are “likely to be played unmasked, with close, face-toface contact exceeding 15 minutes,” CDPH said.
Other sports defined as moderate contact, such as baseball, softball and cheerleading, will not be subject to the testing requirement, but it was recommended for athletes in all sports.
For all sports, face coverings will be “strongly encouraged” by CDPH and “should be (worn) to the greatest extent possible,” according to the new guidelines. The guidelines also lay out extensive recommendations for travel, including universal mask wearing, avoiding overnight stays and limiting transport by a single car to members of the same household. At practice, large teams are recommended to split into pods and film sessions should be held virtually, or at least outdoors and masked. All parents and guardians will have to sign an informed consent agreement, according to the guidelines.
By lifting the ban on outdoor sports, Newsom also paved the way forward for spring seasons to start on time in baseball, softball and lacrosse — all of which had their seasons cut short last year with the initial round of coronavirus closures.
While indoor sports, like basketball, volleyball and wrestling, remain unlikely to happen this spring, return-to-play advocates were enthused by Friday’s news after a tiring process.
“We’re all ecstatic for the kids,” De La Salle football coach Justin Alumbaugh said Friday. “We’re going to get to see a lot of kids doing something that they love in a healthy way.”
Thirty-one counties remain outside the bounds to bring back outdoor sports. While almost everywhere in the Bay Area got the immediate green light Friday, most of Southern California still fell short of the requirements.
Laura Reynolds, the Menlo School girls water polo coach, welcomed the state’s new plan but cautioned so much still must be worked out before a season can start. However, the Knights held their first practice an hour after state officials announced the new guidelines and Reynolds’ players couldn’t contain their excitement.
“Even if we can just scrimmage ourselves, it is the next step,” Reynolds said. “Even today we were drowning each other in two versus two drills.”