PIAA seeks clarification on masks

Is PPE a must for playing football, other sports?

To mask or not to mask, that’s the question players are facing as they approach this weekend’s district and state football playoffs.

On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued more restrictive mandates on wearing masks in response to record-breaking numbers of postive COVID-19 cases across the state.

Dr. Rachel Levine, the state’s health secretary, said that masks are to be worn anytime someone leaves their home.

“We must all be diligent at wearing masks all of the time,” she said.

On Wednesday after the PIAA’s monthly board of control meeting, executive director Robert Lombardi said each school should be in contact with their solicitor to decide whether they may fit into an exception that would alleviate their requirement to wear masks during competition.

“Each school should make their own individual assessment and determination in deciding whether their teams might fit into an exception,”Lombardi said. “Each school has its own health and safety plan, and they know best the condition of each of their individual student-athletes.”

Lombardi said the PIAA’s sports medicine committee expressed concern about getting proper levels of oxygen while wearing masks during competition and exercise.

Henoted a couple of exceptions in the state mask-wearing mandate, including one being “If wearing a face covering would either cause a medical condition, or exacerbate an existing one, including respiratory issues that impede breathing, a mental health condition or a

disability.”

“That’s whythe board felt these assessments should be done by each school,” Lombardi said. “An exception might be if a mask creates an unsafe condition of an individual athlete. If an athlete has some sort of respiratory condition or activity-induced asthma, you could see some members of one teamwearmasksandothersnot.”

Lombardiwasaskedifhesought further guidance from the departmentofhealthontheissueandsaid hedid but received noresponse.

The start of winter sports competition is still more than three weeks away (Dec. 11), and Lombardi and other PIAA officials hoped to have more clarity on the masks by then, especially in a sport such as swimming, which obviously could be problematic in regard to the maskmandate.

“We’vegotaseriousissuewhenit comes to swimming,” said Melissa Mertz, the PIAA’s assistant executive director. “We’re definitely going to push for some clarification. I’m not sure all of the sports were thought out when that was put in there. When you’re talking about a swimmer turning his or her head and grabbing oxygen, we could have some serious medical complications if we don’t have an exception in swimming.”

Whitehall High School athletic director and District 11 Chairman Bob Hartman, whose facility will host district championship games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nightsandthestatechampionships in field hockey on Saturday, said: “You may see kids with masks on while playing in these games and that’s OK.”

He added that presents its own unique challenges.

“But our football players at Whitehall for a good part of the yearhadmasksontheirfacemasks which was good,” he said. We had cloth masks specifically designed forafootballhelmet.Itwenteither under a face mask or over a face mask and that was good, but later as the season wore on it started to dissipate a little bit.”

On another coronavirus-related matter, the PIAA couldn’t come to an agreement on a provision that would require teams to have a minimum of three days of practice to resume its games after a stoppage.

All programs must complete of 15 days of preseason practice before beginning play, but once that requirement is met, Hartman would like to see teams be able to play immediately after of more than three stoppage.

Earlier this week, Bethlehem Area School District announced its winter sports won’t begin until Jan. 11, which means the earliest Freedom and Liberty teams can compete is Jan. 26. Palmerton also announced it won’t start sports until January andWhitehall won’t begin practice until Nov. 27, one week after Friday’s first allowable date for practice.

“Igetit,”Hartmansaid.“Iunderstand the principles of health and safety. I understand the rationale. Buttoputateamoutformorethan three days because of a COVID-19 closure, which is whatwe’re going through right now, and then make them have to practice for three days after they come back ... it just takes usable days away from kids to compete.”

Hartman said he is hopeful his Whitehall can start on Nov. 27, which would give them enough time to be ready for the start of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference seasononDec.15.Somenonleague games have already been postponedhesaid.

“Weneed to get those 15 days of practice under our belt, and that 15 days is not waivable,” Hartman said. “It’s 15 days, nomoreorless.”

Hartman also said bad weather in the winter is often a factor.

“The number of days available to kids is quite minimal and I just don’t want to see us reduce it further by making them practice for three days before they can returntoplayifthey’reshutdown,” he said. “Throw in Christmas and New Year’s, and we’re not playing at Whitehall between Dec. 23 and Jan. 11 because that’s what we agreed to, and there’s just not a lot of dates to play.

“Andwho’stosaywe’renotgoing togetshutdownagainbecausethis is not going away.”