The Plan For The Return Of School Sports In Virginia

With the phased reopening of schools planned for the fall in Virginia, more heads are turning to what sports in the Commonwealth will look like.

The Virginia High School League issued a statement after the announcement Tuesday, saying they will look to align their plans alongside Governor Ralph Northam reopening plans with help from the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, who has already been working on these plans, in addition to the Executive Committee who will see those guidelines. VHSL will then issue guidelines to local school divisions as school boards prepare for reopening in the fall.

“Once we review the documents provided by the Governor to reopen schools, we will move as quickly as possible to develop guidelines that will align with his plans,” said VHSL Executive Director Dr. John W. “Billy” Haun. “It is important to say that these guidelines must also align with local school divisions and superintendents reopening plans under Phase II & III.

Some notable information for athletics from the Governor’s guidelines for phase two of reopening plans for schools includes allowing indoor and outdoor sports if 10 feet of physical distancing is maintained between athletes and spectators, as well as limiting capacity to 50% of occupancy load or 50 people at an outdoor venue, and 30% capacity of occupancy load or 50 people at an indoor venue. They also recommend any and all shared items be disinfected between users. Additional information for indoor sports includes prohibiting any outside spectators that is not a parent or guardian supervising children, and recommending spectators wear a face covering when attending indoor events. _ Electric 94.9 News Room