The restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic have undoubtedly made this school year difficult in several ways, including the limitation of school activities and events. Fortunately, after careful planning from the school district, the safety department, and the athletic department, in-person sports began on February 22nd. Despite the abnormality of the sports seasons, coaches and student-athletes are enthusiastic to be practicing and competing.

SCHEDULE

The various seasons have been shortened in order to fit all sports into the rest of the school year. “fall” sports (cross country, football, girls’ swim and dive, boys’ tennis, girls’ volleyball, and non-competitive cheer and dance) started February 22nd and will end April 2nd. “Spring” sports (baseball, golf, boys’ soccer, fastpitch softball, girls’ tennis, and track) start March 29th and end May 8th. Finally, “winter” sports (baseball, boys’ swim and dive, and wrestling), start May 3rd and end June 12th. Competitions are frequent, and schedules can be found on the Kamiak Athletics website.

HOW TO WATCH

In order to maintain health and safety, in-person spectating is adjusted at this time. First, there are new online opportunities for parents and the student body to watch. For example, there are live streams of select sports such as Volleyball, Girls Soccer, and Football, as well as others in the upcoming seasons. These live streams are linked on the athletics section of the Kamiak webpage. Additionally, the district recently began allowing limited home team spectators. For some sports, family and friends who plan to watch must be invited by coaches or athletes, receive a ticket, and follow COVID-19 guidelines. In other sports, spectators may watch without a ticket. In the future seasons, depending on phase guidelines, a similar process will continue.

Image courtesy of Kamiak Youtube

COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS

Health is the top priority for staff and students. Therefore, there are a multitude of COVID-19 precautions in place to keep participants healthy. The message from the athletic director, Sean Monica, outlines the various rules and regulations. For example, athletes must bring an attestation form to practice each day that states they have no symptoms, have had no close contact with a positive COVID-19 case, and are not awaiting a virus test result. Additionally, all participants must wear a mask, sanitize their hands, and maintain social distance responsibly.

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