Written by Darian Fauser, Greenwich High School class of 2021
With Greenwich High School beginning school on September 9th, many are left wondering what the fate of fall sports is. Student athletes have many opinions on the decision of CIAC regarding the commencement of fall sports.
As of August 27, the CIAC announced that all fall sports were able to begin on August 29.
This includes cross country, swimming, soccer, field hockey, volleyball, and football. Each sport is allowed to conduct practices in groups smaller than 10 with low risk conditioning and no contact skill work.
Additionally, any sports that are cancelled will not be moved to later in the 2020-2021 school year.
Transitioning into the school year, the CIAC will evaluate and inform schools on September 18th whether or not they will be able to move forward with sports. This would mean progressing to full team moderate risk practices and beginning games on October 1st.
Greenwich High School student athletes have varying opinions on the start and cancellation of fall sports and how the restrictions will affect their teams.
Field hockey captain Ellie Ybarra is grateful along with her team for the opportunity to have a season at all. She says, “Playing field hockey in any form would be better than not being able to play at all.”
Ybarra said she was excited for the season and to reunite with her teammates, even though it will not be in the same capacity as previous years.
Although she is excited for the season, Ybarra described one important consequence of the Covid-19 restrictions on practices and teams: the lack of team bonding.
She explained, “The chemistry on the field is really important”, and without team dinners or events outside of playing, it will be harder to form bonds with teammates.
Swim team member Caitlyn Weil has a similar opinion on this topic. The Greenwich High School swim team is constantly holding team bonding events, and without them, it will be a completely different season and experience.
A topic Ybarra and Weil have differing opinions on, however, is the cancellation of fall sports in its entirety.
On one hand, Ybarra said she believed that the policies in place are appropriate and will protect athletes against Covid-19. The field hockey team is practicing in groups of nine with conditioning for 30 minutes and skill work for 30 minutes. This system allows no exposure between grades and teams. Ybarra hopes that outbreaks among other sports won’t jeopardize the field hockey season, as she feels field hockey is definitely safe to play.
Weil believes there is a high chance of sports being cancelled this season. She states, “Having sports defeats the entire purpose of hybrid learning because you won’t only be seeing the same group of people from school.” Additionally, with this happening among so many sports teams, the risk is even higher.
The CIAC will continue to update plans with fall sports as the season progresses and monitor Covid-19 metrics daily.
See also:
BOE Schedules Aug 31 Special Meeting on Covid Staffing Challenges and Updates
Greenwich Teachers: Too Many Questions, Too Few Answers
Aug 24, 2020
Greenwich Teachers to Return to Buildings Monday; CIAC to Evaluate Sports One Week at a Time Aug 28, 2020