With the heavy restrictions imposed by state and local governments due to the coronavirus pandemic, athletics has been one of the most impacted industries. Seattle school sports have been shut down since the start of March last year, and as the city has attempted to navigate through the pandemic, progress surrounding their reintroduction has been minimal. Some private sports teams unaffiliated with Seattle Public Schools have been given permission in recent months to stage socially distanced practices or even practices with masks, but those rules often do not translate over to school sports.
However, with vaccine development and administration, school sports are likely to make a return in the not-so-distant future. SPS has released a rough plan for a potential return to school athletics. Fall sports like girls’ soccer, cross country, and even football (although football is most likely to return later, due to the direct physical contact of the sport) could make a return. As of right now, this preliminary schedule would see fall/winter sports returning as soon as early February, with potential seasons set for April and May, should they be set back again.
These schedules are incredibly loose: schools and teams within the district can make direct requests to modify their scheduling depending on their individual situations in relation to COVID-19. Schools will regulate inter-school competitions with individual schools being able to apply to return earlier than others. That could bring a potential sporting advantage to some teams. As of now, there has not been much information released on this subject and it can be assumed that the district is simply prioritizing any return, however incomplete, rather than a complete return to sports at this moment.
Another development released by SPS in recent days has been the addition of two mandatory waivers. Named, “Athletic Participation COVID Waiver” and “Athletic COVID Screening Form,” these two waivers are designed to ensure that all student athletes follow COVID-19 related precautions when participating in the sport of their choice, and that student athletes are screened for COVID-19 themselves. A rather obvious precaution, these waivers introduce a new set of regulations upon student athletes.
Athletics are a hallmark of our society in many ways, providing hope and joy to many. Brandon Liu, a student-athlete at Roosevelt High School, says, “Sports are a way to forget all of my problems even if it’s for an hour or less. You’re sort of free from everything for a period of time, and it’s something that I especially need.” It is recognized by SPS that sports is an item of high priority. SPS encourages the community of athletes and directors to provide suggestions as to how we should move forward. Overall, the situation seems to only be getting better, and if predictions hold, athletics look likely to return one way or another in the coming months.
There could be distancing, there could be mask mandates, but athletics will probably return at the school level very soon, depending on the local area’s COVID-19 situation. “With the vaccine coming out hopefully we will all be able to play again soon,” Liu added. With a balance of reintroducing athletics and maintaining safe COVID-19 protocols, the SPS and WIAA are moving towards this return, however slow the process may seem. The situation of reintroducing school athletics could change at any minute. Much of the information on school athletics that has been released is heavily situational, but as time moves forward, a return of athletics seems on the cusp of reality.
