The Port Washington school district has announced measures for the return of basketball, wrestling and cheerleading.
District Athletics Director Stephenie Joannon wrote in a letter to parents that a condensed season for the three high-risk sports had been approved by Nassau County and its Department of Health, due to run from Feb. 1 to Feb. 27. Eight matches are scheduled for basketball and wrestling, and two to three competitions for cheerleading.
Protocols for the season begin with tryouts, with athletes needing to be cleared before trying for a spot on the team. Further requirements will include a daily attestation of being covid-free via a unique athletics QR code for all athletes and coaches by 2 p.m. on weekdays and 90 minutes before practices on weekends/school recesses for contact tracing and accountability purposes, mandatory masks, and a socially distant waiting room for student-athletes, among other things.
There will be prohibitions on access to locker rooms, with athletes required to “bring their own water and bags of clothing appropriate for practice and clothing appropriate for leaving practice,” sharing of clothes or water with teammate, and attendance of spectators at sporting events, with livestreaming available “for those sports hosted in the Schreiber main gym and off site home facilities, where feasible.”
Student-athletes in the three sports would not be required to stick to fully remote learning, with both remote and hybrid students welcome to participate.
“With this reopening of these sports for our athletes, we want to continue to remind parents and athletes to practice social distancing, limit gatherings, wash your hands and wear a mask,” Joannon wrote.
