CIAC will no longer recommend masks starting Feb. 28

The CIAC will not require student-athletes to wear masks for practices and competitions for both indoor and outdoor events effective Monday, Feb 28, according to its latest updated guidance for winter and spring sports.

The CIAC said the decision was made in consultation with its medical experts. Student-athletes, coaches, officials, game workers, and spectators will follow mask permissions and restrictions issued by the facilities in which events occur.

The CIAC guidance states “it respects the decision of any individual who chooses to wear a mask in practice or competition,” and notes the federal TSA mandate for transportation requiring all individuals to wear a mask has been extended through March 18th.

This federal requirement includes traveling for sports contests.

Ultimately, decisions will be made by individual school districts. In its guidance, the CIAC requests consideration be given for allowing athletes to “compete indoors without masks while wearing masks in all non-competitive activities,” for those districts which determine “that continuing with mask requirements is in the school community’s best interest.”

Those non-competitive activities would include “on the bench, in the locker room, etc.”

Presently, athletes competing in basketball, hockey, running events in indoor track and dance have been wearing masks. Those competing in wrestling, swimming and diving, gymnastics, cheerleading and both throwing and jumping events in indoor track have competed all season without having to wear masks.

The CIAC offered to meet with any interested school districts to review sport-specific data it has collected and analyzed.

“A significant finding of CIAC’s research is that even during Connecticut’s highest positivity rate surge in the pandemic to date, CIAC interscholastic athletic practices and competitions provided safe, structured physical activity, with less than 1% of studentathlete COVID-19 cases stemming from these experiences.”

State tournament playdowns for girls basketball begin Feb. 25, with first round games starting on Feb. 28. The CIAC boys basketball tournament begins March 3 and the hockey tournament on March 7.

Spring sports practices start March 19 and competition begins on April 2.