MADISON, Wis. – On Friday, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association released a 21-page guideline for districts hosting winter sports. The handbook primarily focuses on changes schools would need to make in order to play sports while mitigating Coronavirus risks.
“We’re going to see how it goes and how it interacts with the flu season,” said Wade Labecki, Deputy Director of the WIAA. “I think that’s the important piece. We’re learning as we’re going. It’s very fluid. Things will change, we understand that. We’ll see how it goes.”
Labecki said a “Sport Medical Advisory Committee”, composed of eight doctors, an athletic trainer and one nutritionist were behind the plan.
“Our guidelines are very solid,” he said. “When they’re followed and implemented properly, you can offer a safe program”
Despite some schools that initially offered in-person learning pivoting online due to COVID-19 outbreaks while Wisconsin quickly becomes the nation’s largest Coronavirus hot spot, Labecki feels the games will be safe.
“Our kids are not causing the hot spots,” he said. “Our kids are being more diligent in following the guidelines that our coaches and schools have put in place.”
Guidelines for each sport vary, but include some of the following:
- Basketball
- Players must keep a distance of six feet from teammates while on the bench
- Players are prohibited from putting their fingers in their mouth or spitting (game must stop if this happens while players sanitize)
- Eliminate Jump Ball
- Eliminate pre/post-game handshakes
- Gymnastics
- Eliminate common chalk bowl
- Athletes must sanitize before each event
- Hockey
- Eliminate benches during practice to ensure social distancing
- Swimming
- Increase water sanitation level
- Eliminate use of locker rooms whenever possible
- Wrestling
- Allow for 6-7 days between competition
- Eliminate hand raises
Some athletic directors, like Jeremy Schlitz, say even with precautions, sports go against health and safety guidelines set by the state.
“Sometimes, you’ve got to step back and say, you really talk about the greater good,” Schlitz said. “The greater good might mean the health of our communities. If the public health experts are telling us we shouldn’t do things outside of our home, we shouldn’t be doing things outside of our home.”
While Schlitz says he applauds other AD’s throughout the state for finding a way to hold fall events safely, he says he’s frustrated to see games continue while the state’s COVID-19 numbers rise.
“As we see new records of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, there’s a frustration that others are doing something which isn’t allowing those of us making a different choice to get back to what we want sooner,” he said.
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