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Date: 12/31/2020
EAST LONGMEADOW – With the winter athletics season starting on Jan. 11, the school committee had to decide at their Dec. 21 meeting whether or not they would give the green light on winter sports.
Athletic Director Kevin McGee and Principal Frank Paige shared with the committee on what the potential season would look like. The sports up for discussion for the winter season are basketball, ice hockey, swimming and ski team.
The two winter sports that are not running in their traditional season include indoor track and wrestling. Indoor track is postponed to begin on March 1 and wrestling is scheduled to begin on April. 26.
Paige said, “The reason why indoor track is not running because of the facility we typically use is not allowing the Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference (PVIAC) to rent the facility. We typically run it at Smith College and they’re not running any rentals at the moment.”
According to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Modifications, skiing and swimming are designated by the EEA as a lower risk sport, while basketball and ice hockey are designed as a higher risk sport.
For skiing, five to six PVIAC bubble ski races will be scheduled. Ski lodges will be closed to teams and athlete’s transportation will be used as the warming/changing area. There will be a limited number of teams on the mountain at one time with six feet social distancing at all times.
For swimming, eight to 10 PVIAC bubble swim meets will be scheduled. Competitions will only be dual meets, with schools having the option of competing in virtual meets. Masks are to be worn at all times in the pool area except while swimming, and individual masks will be collected on starting blocks placed in plastic bags and delivered to swimmers after exiting the pool.
In basketball, eight to 12 bubble games will be scheduled. Face masks are required at all times while playing and in the facility. Roster sizes are limited to 12 participants. In order to minimize contact between teams of 12, there will be no practicing against different levels in the East Longmeadow Public Schools.
At ice hockey, eight to 12 bubble ice hockey boy games will be scheduled. Roster sizes are limited to 20 participants. Team bench areas are expanded for six feet social distancing with face masks required while playing and all times in the facility.
School Committee Chair Gregory Thompson had a question about the schedule. With the district’s hybrid model, East Longmeadow is bringing back more students on Jan. 19.
He asked, “Can we ensure that student athletes will not be roaming the high school specifically, because we’ll have staff back the week prior. I don’t necessarily want them mingling before we actually start the hybrid model. Are there plans in place to isolate the gym and the pool from the rest of the building?”
McGee assured Thompson they won’t have student athletes enter through the main entrance. Athletes will meet their coaches through the door near the tennis courts and will exit through the pool hallway door.
Committee member Elizabeth Marsian-Boucher told McGee and Paige that they're going to have students who are not going to be utilizing the towns busing service and won't be able to be picked up for an hour or 20 minutes. Her question was, “What happens if you have students who have to wait for parents to get out of work or whatever it might be. Are you allowing the students to stay, or are they getting kicked out of the building at a certain time?”
Paige answered, “Unless a student is participating in a practice beginning immediately after school or if a student is getting extra help where they can stay with a teacher until 2:45 p.m., students will be asked to exit the building. Unfortunately, we’re not going to be allowed to have students hang out and sit in the cafeteria for a couple of hours waiting for practice."
After careful deliberation, the committee made a motion to approve the athletic program running from Jan. 11 through Feb. 28, 2021 as presented.
At the end of the meeting, the committee made a motion to accept the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B Federal Targeted Special Education Program Improvement Grant. This grant for $19,017 will help the District with contract services for Individualized Education Program student services.
Along with the motion to approve the school year calendar adjustment moving a Professional Development Day from March 19, 2021 to Jan. 15, 2021. This means they will have school now on March 19 in the hybrid model, but there will be no remote school on Jan. 15.