Sports Are On!
Sycamore winter sports will continue during the post-Thanksgiving quarantine.
SPORTS ARE ON! Although most people thought winter sports were coming to a halt, Sycamore’s Data Assessment Risk Team (DART) came to the conclusion that sports will continue during the post-Thanksgiving quarantine. All athletics for grades 7-12 will continue as planned for the week of November 30th – December 4th. Sycamore Athletic Director Mark Harden discussed the decision for sports to continue during the virtual week. When asked about the numbers behind the decision, Harden said, “Since September 1st there have been two positive cases. That is two student-athletes out of 708 students competing in fall (365) and winter (343) or .002%. At the Junior High, they’ve had one case for over 400 athletes. In addition, there has been zero team/school spread – No positive tests of those in quarantine from close contact.” Harden goes on to talk more in-depth about the decision and how it was made along with the advantages of the decision.
Although most people thought winter sports were coming to a halt, Sycamore’s Data Assessment Risk Team (DART) came to the conclusion that sports will continue during the post-Thanksgiving quarantine. All athletics for grades 7-12 will continue as planned for the week of November 30th – December 4th.
Sycamore Athletic Director Mark Harden discussed the decision for sports to continue during the virtual week. “Since September 1st there have been two positive cases. That is two student-athletes out of 708 students competing in fall (365) and winter (343) or .002%. At the Junior High, they’ve had one case for over 400 athletes. In addition, there has been zero team/school spread – No positive tests of those in quarantine from close contact.” Harden said. Considering the lack of positive cases among athletes, it is clear that the protocols put in place are working to prevent the spread and keep Sycamore athletes safe.
Some people question the decision to allow sports to continue when school is virtual. Harden emphasizes the nature of winter sports and having “smaller groups/pods by the nature of the sport.” In addition, Harden explained that all other GMC schools plan to maintain winter sports even if there is a move to virtual learning. “Oak Hills and Milford (non-league) already made the move to virtual last week but have maintained athletics and OHSAA has given [the] ok to continue,” Harden said.
So what are the disadvantages and advantages of continuing sports over the break? “Shutting down would put our student-athletes at a physical and competitive disadvantage by unnecessarily stopping without a positive case. In addition, we put a halt to off-season workouts to make our facilities even safer and more spread out.” Harden said. Harden also indicated that student-athletes and families are already making proper sacrifices and good decisions. Winter sports can continue to operate safely and you can make the case even safer. Student-athletes are already doing everything they need to do to prevent the spread and keep their team safe.
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