The NYSPHSAA released a 41-page Return to Interscholastic Athletics document to provide general guidelines and considerations for student-athletes, coaches, officials, school administrators, and parents to follow.
Also provided are sport-specific guidelines for fall sports.
To interscholastic athletics resource document today to assist bringing school sports back into the fold.
The 41-page document serves as a supplement to the previously released guidance from the state health department it expands on guidelines for specific fall sports set to return in the fall - and contains considerations for schools - coaches - student-athletes - officials and parents to follow to allow for safe competition.
In general - things like hand shaking - high fives and fist bumps have been temporarily prohibited - bench areas may be expanded to allow for social distancing - and team members are encouraged to bring their own water bottle or equipment to use.
Coaches will also be required to document the personnel on hand at practices and games in case contact tracing is required.
A few sport specific highlights - soccer players must wear masks during play - cross country meets are urged to use staggered or interval starts - field hockey players are to use their own or a single school- issued ball at practices - there's a limit of 10 or fewer people in the water in a pool at a time for swimming and diving - tennis players should have their own ball to serve and retrieve balls using rackets and not bare hands - no exchanging scorecards in golf - and no common chalk bowls for gymnastics.
It's all an attempt to reduce contact throughout competition.
We'll have a link to the full document on our website - wktv.com.
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