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Furthermore, at home football games, there are lines six feet apart in the student section separating students while requiring them to always wear a mask. Zachary Osborne, varsity starting quarterback and junior, said the players participate too. He said, “Along the sidelines we are staying spaced out even more than usual. They allowed us to move down the sidelines ever further now lowering the risk of kids having to quarantine. “We are faced with a challenge every Friday, and we face it in the best we can while having to deal with all of the (social distancing) guidelines.” While these guidelines are not ideal, athletes understand their necessity. “The worst regulation is being six feet apart,’’ Rainbolt said. “I’m a very social person, and I like to get to know the people on the team. It’s really annoying, but I want to have a season...so we just have to follow the regulations provided for us.” Inskeep said he agreed. “I think everybody understands that there are changes that have to take place in order for us to have seasons and to have students in the building for the school year,” he said. “There is disappointment, for sure, but we’ve also tried to think about... ways in which we can deliver those
27
BY THE NUMBERS
27 teams from the NFL have 0 fans to start the season this fall
2.5
THOUSAND fans allowed at Colts home games
50% capacity that is expected at the French open tennis tournament
5
THOUSAND fans projected to be allowed for the PGA tour in 2021 ESPN SOURCE
PLAY ON: Lauren Rainbolt (right), varsity soccer player and junior, plays in the second half of her soccer game against Lawrence North High School on Sept. 8. Although Murray Stadium can only hold 250 people right now per IHSAA requirements, Rainbolt said she understands the precautions for keeping people safe.
contests and games to a greater audience because we have those limitations in place.” At the end of the day, coaches and athletes said they are glad to be competing again, despite the changes. Inskeep said, “We spent so much time this spring and then summer to get to that first day of team practices... when teams could get back together and start working out. “There was so much time spent, with our protocols and the way we were going to be making changes, so to actually get to Saturday, Aug. 15, and to have so many of our teams competing on that day in our venues and on the road, was really kind of a special thing.
“I wasn’t sure we were going to get there at that point this fall and have sports and now that we’re about two months into it, (it) definitely looks different but I can tell you that once a whistle blows, it H looks just like it always has.” This story was originally published online on Sept. 21, 2020
FROM A DISTANCE View an example of some of the regulations and precautions of sporting events this fall season
6’ 0’
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PLEASE WEAR A FACE MASK
Official Rules • Different families must remain six feet apart during games • There should be no more than 250 people on a set of bleachers • Number of fans should not exceed 50% normal capacity • All ticket sales are made online
Bleacher seating doubled from last year
PLEASE WEAR A FACE MASK
Signs promoting social distancing
NATHAN HUANG GRAPHIC INDYSTAR, IHSAA SOURCES
Scan this QR code to view stories from ESPN about spectator limits for going to national sports games
