2020 RETROSPECTIVE
H IG H S C H O O L S P O R TS I N 2021 BY: C ALLUM B UR GE S S
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s the chaotic year of 2020 comes to a close, the ambiguity of the following year has come into question. This year can be considered as a loss in regards to the typical high school student values. Senior years and celebrations were put on hold along with co-curriculars and athletics. Schools were shut down as friends and family were forced to isolate. With this in mind, the pandemic continues to rage forward into the foreseeable future. The Center of Disease Control has warned that this winter may be the “most dangerous time in U.S. public health history.” On Wednesday December 2, the U.S. recorded its single highest COVID death toll since the beginning of the pandemic - over 2,760 reported dead in a single day. Although vaccination advancements steadily increase, the return
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to normalcy is still far off into the horizon. The eluded normalcy we might see in 2021 is all dependent on our situation. That being said, priorities must be set in order. The average San Diegan high schooler has yet to return to in-class learning. Pacific Ridge students have the luxury of being a part of a private school system, which allows greater flexibility in regards to hybrid and in-person learning. California Interscholastic Federation, CIF, is the governing body for all high school sports in the state of California. Its jurisdiction ranges over both public and private high schools, making its athletic decisions vital for Pacific Ridge students. “To help slow the spread of COVID-19, California’s stay-at-home order issued on March 19, 2020, effectively suspended all youth sports, including school-based, club,