student life
What’s up with Winter Sports? How will Winter sports get through the season while battling COVID-19 complications?
A
s fall sports are wrapping up, tryouts and practices are beginning for the winter. With high contact, the continuation of winter athletics may be up in the air.
Regulations
According to Kelli Kurle, the Associate Principal and Athletic director at BVN, winter sports are going through the district’s regulations to prevent COVID-19 as best they can so sports can keep the green light. Activities and athletics began in-person competitions beginning the week of Dec. 7. “As of right now [winter sports] are a go. KSHSAA [had] a proposal to delay sports until Jan. 15 where only practices would be allowed to be held until Jan. 15, where games [would] resume,” Kurle said. Proposals from KSHSAA changed rapidly during November and December. According to KSHSAA, as of Dec. 9, up to two parents/guardians per student will be allowed at interscholastic activities starting Dec. 11, to minimize the risk of exposure while still providing opportunities for students and spectators. The Blue Valley district has partnered with the NFHS network to livestream events. Mandatory universal masking will be enforced, with the exception of athletes during the time they are competing and officials during live action. When the presence of a mask poses a risk to the student athlete’s safety, during activities of physical exertion, the mask may be removed. “We are washing equipment, using Tersano spray for balls, wrestlers are using special masks, masks for basketball players during practice, no out-of-town tournaments, only doing six team wrestling tournaments as well as smaller swim practices and meets,” Kurle said. “There’s a proposal to remove fans, but right now there can be two fans per player for each
sport.” Restrictions are being placed on the reliance of science and studies that are coming out. Kurle is working with the District Board’s nurse and the Johnson County Health Department to administer quarantines and execute decisions on the path for sports.
Basketball
Girls and Boys Basketball is already preparing for their season with tryouts occurring Nov. 16. Senior Andrew Orr, who was on the varsity team last year, was intent on playing this season despite the issues with the coronavirus pandemic, citing that he played over the summer and was expecting a similar type of game play. “During my games we would have to get screened every time we entered and left the building, but now the boys and girls [teams] have to wear masks during conditioning and practice,” Orr said. “We also were not allowed to go inside, and we always had to wear masks during our workout.” Orr believes there is a likely chance that winter basketball season will be canceled. “I think it’ll go well for the first couple of weeks, but I think as soon as there’s one case, it’ll go downhill pretty fast from there,” Orr said. Junior Mary Crossland, varsity,
22 | The North Star | December 2020
By Jack Toal believed the girls basketball team will perform well this year as far as the season goes, but also said she expected winter sports to be shut down with one or two positive tests of COVID-19. “It’ll make me a little sad because I won’t be able to hear my friends cheering, but as long as we get to play, I’ll be happy.” Crossland said. Orr, however, thought that this limitation wouldn’t affect the players. “It’ll be like AAU and club basketball, which is like playing for your own respective teams in tournaments, so it won’t be too different,” Orr said. Last year the boys team was fairly successful making it to the Semi-Finals before the season was canceled. “Last year we went 20-3 and were about to play Hayesville Campus in the semis. If we won that we were probably going to play Blue Valley Northwest in the Finals,” Orr said. “I think we can win a state chip this year — we have a majority of our starting line-up returning.” Crossland also thinks the team will do well this year since only five seniors graduated last year, meaning they will likely already be familiar with the members on the team. “Making it to the sub-state game and winning this time ... would be our goal for this year,” she said. “We are looking to win sub-state this year since we lost in the substate game last year.”
