State gives high schools OK to play some sports
Marin gears up for football; indoor games still banned
High school football and other outdoor sports were thrown a lifeline and will be allowed to resume play across many parts of California for the first time in nearly 12 months, the state Department of Public Health announced Friday, culminating a long-fought battle for return-to-play advocates.
“Today, if there was no announcement, I was planning on meeting with the kids on Monday and telling them that time has run out,” San Rafael High football coach Mark Lubamersky said. “I was going to give them the time off and tell them they’d all do track because I’m also the track coach.
“I really hoped to keep them together. It keeps them academically in place and gives them a sense of place and family and all those intrinsic things that sports give kids.”
Football, baseball, softball, soccer, water polo and lacrosse are all among the sports allowed to begin
competition next Friday in Marin County and 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, including all but Contra Costa and Solano counties in the Bay Area.
Marin’s adjusted rate sits at 8.9 cases per 100,000 residents. In addition, the health department’s new guidance allows Little League, youth softball and soccer and adult rec leagues to resume playing starting next Friday.
Fan attendance for youth sports (18 or younger) will be limited to immediate household members for the strict purpose of age appropriate supervision. Spectators must maintain physical distance from others. Indoor and outdoor capacity limits will be in effect.
At least one hurdle for Marin’s outdoor contact teams to return to play still remains as the county health department will need to choose to remain aligned with the state guidance. The county could adopt more restrictive guidelines that would trump the state guidance but to this point Marin has followed the state’s protocols.
“Our plan is to align with State,” Dr. Lisa Santora, Marin’s deputy public health officer, wrote in an email on Friday. “We just received the document this (morning) and will review with (Public Health Officer Dr. Matt) Willis next week.”
Under the previous guidance, the first day of football practice with pads in the Marin County Athletic League is set for March 1 with the first games scheduled for March 17 or 18. The MCAL has a meeting set for Monday to re-evaluate the sports calendars.
“The information has been disseminated to all the schools and we have a meeting on Monday where we will be discussing what’s going on and again we have our calendar of start and end dates,” MCAL commissioner Susie Woodall said. “It’s my opinion we will continue with our calendar as it has been released but things will be verified by the beginning of next week.”
Across the county, the news was met with excitement and cautious optimism.
“(The kids) are really excited, but they’re still guarded too,” said San Marin football co-coach Dom DiMare. “Until we get that gear and that helmet on, I mean, wouldn’t you be after all this? We’re told we were going to play in December and then, ‘no, we’re not.’ We were going to play maybe January, ‘no, we’re not.’ All the way up until last week, when a decision was supposed to be made last Tuesday and then no decision.
“You keep taking things away from these kids and now they’re a little gun-shy. You can’t blame them. But they’re excited, it’s a step in the right direction and I say that guardedly myself.”
Indoor sports were left untouched, without compelling evidence they can be played safely. Two sports saw their guidance become more restrictive. Tennis — formerly in the purple tier — was split up with singles permitted in purple while doubles isn’t permitted until a county enters the red tier. Marin is expected to move from the purple tier into the red tier next week.
Additionally, indoor volleyball was moved from the orange tier (second-least restrictive) into the most-restrictive yellow tier.
Higher-contact sports that have been approved to play must also adhere to new guidelines, namely a weekly testing regimen.
“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,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said, while also thanking leaders from the Let Them Play movement “for their strong advocacy and their support of a process that we’ve engaged in over the last number of weeks in the give and take in terms landing on the new guidelines.”
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.
“Youth sports are important to our children’s physical and mental health, and our public health approach has worked to balance those benefits against COVID-19 risks,” Aragón said in a statement. “With case rates and hospitalizations declining across California, we are allowing outdoor competition to resume, with modifications and steps to reduce risk, in counties where case rates are lower.”
Football players, as well as athletes who play rugby or water polo, will also be required to be tested weekly if their home county has a case rate above 7/100K, with tests that will be provided by the state. That is because those sports are “likely to be played unmasked, with close, faceto-face 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 the state health department 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. All parents and guardians will have to sign an “informed consent” agreement, “indicating their understanding and acknowledgement of the risks.”
By lifting the ban on outdoor sports, Newsom has 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.
Some low-contact, outdoor sports, such as cross country, have already begun in California. But the ruling is especially crucial for the state’s football teams, which high-school officials say have to get a season in by April 17 for next year to start on time. Now, many of California’s some 87,000 prep football players should have time to fit in at least a five-game season.
“I’m hoping to be able to start handing out equipment tomorrow if (the county) gives us the OK,” DiMare said.