CIAC director: No immediate changes for fall sports

The CIAC Board of Control held a Thursday-morning meeting that executive director Glenn Lungarini termed “pretty standard.”

After a chaotic past year and a half for the state’s governing body for high school sports amid the COVID-19 pandemic, that itself might be newsworthy. With practice underway for all fall sports, Lungarini said the board is sticking with the guidance for high school sports that the CIAC released two weeks ago.

“Nothing really new (regarding the fall), nothing different,” Lungarini said.

Masks will be required to participate in girls volleyball and girls swimming, regardless of vaccination status. Masks must be worn during competition and practice for volleyball, but not for athletes in a pool while swimming. They will also be required in other indoor school settings, like locker rooms, but won’t be during outdoor play.

“A lot of schools are coming back with kids this week and next . ... We’ll keep a close watch on the first couple of weeks of school and see how schools fare.”

The board’s next scheduled meeting is Sept. 16.

“If things keep going, hopefully there won’t be much in the way of modifications in the winter,” Lungarini said, adding that the CIAC and schools will continue to follow guidance from the state Department of Public Health.

Lungarini had said earlier this week that the CIAC had not discussed mandating a COVID-19 vaccine for athletes, and he reiterated that on Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine on Monday for individuals age 16 and up, but that same approval has not yet come for ages 12-15, though the vaccine has emergency use authorization for that age group. That splits high school-age stu

dents roughly in half.

“I saw a great PSA that was put out by the New Haven school district of student-athletes encouraging their peers to get vaccinated. That still is the No. 1 mitigating strategy to keep kids in the classroom and on the field,” Lungarini said.

Fully vaccinated players and staff have less-stringent

quarantine rules than unvaccinated people should they be in close contact with a known COVID-19 case. That, Lungarini said, could make the difference between a team remaining on the field or being forced into a break of up to two weeks.

“I hope (wider full approval) comes soon,” Lungarini said. “I think it gives people more confidence.”