Masks, electric whistles and socially distant benches made Wednesday’s volleyball scrimmage between Surry Central and East Surry unlike any other in history. Despite all of the guidelines in place, student-athletes are happy to have a since of normalcy amid the pandemic.
Cory Smith | The News
March 12 wasn’t an easy day for anyone in high school athletics.
It’s a day no one wants to remember, but isn’t easily forgotten. COVID-19’s spread both around the world and within the country reached a point of such severity that organizations were shutting down all over.
The N.C. High School Athletic Association attempted to control the situation, but soon found it out of their hands. The call was made that afternoon to suspend all interscholastic athletics for the next few weeks.
“As much as we would like this opportunity for our student-athletes, coaches, and their communities, we know that ultimately any decision we make must err on the side of caution,” said NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker in an email to member schools as well as media.
When sports halted there was a lot of uncertainty concerning their return. The men and women that traditionally know everything going on at a school – the athletic directors – were in the same boat as the rest of us.
The pandemic is still a prominent force that still carries some levels of uncertainty some seven months later. However, studies show that certain activities can, and already have in different states, take place safely.
Local athletic directors gave their thoughts about the NCHSAA’s decision to shut down athletic activities at the beginning of the pandemic. So, it was only appropriate to speak with athletic directors once again to see how much the return of sports really means to their communities.
Chris Butler – North Surry High School
“We’ve had several sports – football, cross country and volleyball – who’ve been working out since Surry County Schools gave the go-ahead this summer and we’ve added several more – boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball and boys soccer – since school started.
Although we are disappointed in the altered schedules and condensed seasons, it is understandable why the NCHSAA made the decisions they made. We’re excited to see volleyball and cross country start officially last week and we are hopeful that we can continue moving forward with swimming and basketball in the upcoming weeks.
“Workouts and official practice have allowed a little bit of return to normalcy for our student-athletes and coaches in a time that isn’t normal and our hope is that it can continue for all of our sports seasons in the future. When games resume (even with limited attendance) it will be exciting for our student athletes, coaches and community support.
“As a conference, we are allowing home fans only to guarantee entry to our parents for at least half the contests. We have continued our service with HUDL, which will allow viewing, although delayed, for volleyball parents of all of our away contests. We’ve been selling pre-paid passes to our JV and varsity parents with the plan to clear the gym between contests to No. 1, disinfect between JV and varsity matches, and No. 2, maximize our number of fans. Spectators will be required to wear masks, socially distance, have a temperature reading, and answer the COVID questions.”
Randy Marion – East Surry High School
“The student-athletes and coaches at East Surry are very excited about the return of high school athletic competitions, but, it is a cautious excitement.
It’s kind of like the anticipation of snow: the weather person tells you it’s going to snow, but there is no guarantee until you actually see it happen and then you think about accumulation. Everyone is predicting 14 inches of snow, but in the end you may only get 4. That may seem goofy, but that’s how I’m looking at it. A lot of things are out of our control.
The East Surry High community is starving for high school athletics. I get asked daily by community members about start dates for our different sports. Our community has always taken great pride in supporting East Surry, with evidence from our 1st Cardinal Carryout where we sold over 300 BBQ plates and have a great buzz around our second scheduled for Nov. 16.
High school athletics in a small town is one of the best ways of bringing a community together.
Wes Evans – Surry Central High School
We are tickled to be able to have some semblance of normalcy through starting our athletics. It’s been quite a time to meet all the COVID protocols while trying to workout/practice. We are definitely working diligently to do the right thing in looking out for our student-athletes and coaches and hopefully soon the fans/parents. We are all working through sanitizing procedures before, in between and after matches/games. Temps and log sheets are done daily and will be done for game days.
Bleachers will be used for the 25 indoor spectators (one side of the gym only currently) and social distancing rules followed. Once we get to outdoor spectator sports, we will do the same for social distancing but the number of spectators goes up to 100.
We have to pre-sell tickets due to the limits on spectators and minimize exposure during exchange of money/tickets at the gate. Our conference will only have home fans attending games given the low limits on spectators.
Hopefully, next week will be starting the season and everything goes smoothly but it is 2020!
Rodney King – Millennium Charter Academy
Our athletes, coaches, and parents are excited that high school and middle school sports are starting back up. Since athletics have started back up our student-athletes seem happier, more motivated, and ready to compete!
As for our safety of student-athletes and spectators we are following the guidelines of the NCHSAA. Each athlete and members of the coaching staff for both teams and spectators will be temperature-checked and asked attestation questions before entering the gym.
Only 25 spectators will be allowed in the gym for volleyball and basketball games. These 25 spectators will be parents and family members of our athletes. Visiting teams will not be allowed to bring in spectators, as I believe will be the protocol for most schools we play. All spectators will be required to wear a mask and staff at least 6 feet apart. Student-athletes and coaches will wear masks on the sideline when not in competition.
We are also working on a way to live stream our volleyball and basketball games so our students and fans that are not able to come to the games can still watch them.
Angela Mayfield and Abby Gallimore – Mount Airy High School
We are excited to have the student-athletes back in action. It is a great boost for social, emotional and mental health.
For our athletes and community, having sports begin is a sign of hope and progress that we can begin to get back to a sense of normality.
Gallimore’s son Ian, a freshman multi-sport athlete at Mount Airy, added that sports returning “Gives us a sense of normality we haven’t felt in a long time. It also fulfills the need of the competitive setting we haven’t had in a long time.”
Reach Cory on Twitter @MaNewsSports
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