Fairbanks’ Jayda Rausch fires the ball over the net during a 2019 volleyball game. Panther athletes are beginning a gradual return to conditioning sessions in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
District will follow three phases of return to sports
High school athletic directors throughout the state of Ohio have been hard at work to determine what the re-opening of sports will look like in the coming days and weeks.
Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) recently permitted limited sports conditioning sessions to begin on Tuesday of this week.
Union County schools, for the most part, have decided to wait until next Monday, June 1, in order to better prepare for the start-up.
The COVID-19 pandemic shutdown began in the middle of March.
The coronavirus wiped out all spring sports seasons throughout the state.
“All of the schools in Union County are doing the same thing,” said Fairbanks High School athletic director Larry Morris.
The schools will follow the three phases of re-opening that have been mandated by health officials.
The first phase will limit the number of athletes in any given location to 10.
That phase will remain in effect for two weeks.
If all goes well, Phases II and III will gradually permit more athletes to become involved.
Morris and district administrators met with Panther head coaches on Tuesday to review how the start-up will go.
District officials determined teams were able to begin the initial phase today.
“We encouraged our coaches to start with next year’s seniors,” said Morris. “As long as virus numbers don’t accelerate, we should be OK with the three phases of re-opening.”
Morris held a virtual meeting on Wednesday with athletic directors from each school in the Ohio Heritage Conference.
He said the session was interesting in the fact the conference is dealing with five county health departments that are helping set guidelines for re-openings.
“You’ve got health departments in Union, Champaign, Madison, Clark and Greene counties,” he said. “Every one in the conference is on board to get re-started.
“Each school, though, seems to so far have a different interpretation of the mandates as far as the number of athletes in phases.”
Morris said Fairbanks officials will focus on what they can do in order to keep all Panther athletes safe during the re-opening process.
“With having seniors come in first, we’re starting small,” he said.
Indoor sports such as basketball and volleyball will have a further delay as gymnasium floors in both the middle school and high school will be resurfaced.
“We’re going to start with the middle school and the high school project will follow,” said Morris.
Athletes will not be required to wear masks during conditioning sessions.
Coaches, however, are mandated to have face coverings under the new guidelines.
Along with re-opening training sessions, athletic directors will be attempting to finalize plans student-athletes’ physical examinations “We originally were going to conduct those exams at the end of May,” said Morris. “We’re still working on new dates.”
Morris said Memorial Health has been instrumental with providing training services and advice as the athletic department returns to activities.
Despite the chaos the pandemic has brought to the sports world, Morris remains confident athletics will return at some point.
“Right now, we’re doing as much as we can,” he said.
However, he added, “We will get there.”