WHEN THE LIGHTS GO ON

by Brendan Saak ’18

QU ATHLETICS AND SPRING SPORTS

In March 2020, sports teams watched the lights go out in stadiums and arenas across the country as athletic programs canceled seasons due to the pandemic.

While the GLVC postponed most of the fall team's official seasons, some teams were allowed to compete in September, including the men’s and women’s golf teams, tennis teams, and cross country teams. Men’s and women’s basketball were the first “high contact” sport to hold a regular-season starting at the end of November.

The women’s soccer and volleyball and men’s lacrosse programs all held intrasquad scrimmages during the fall, and numerous other teams like football, baseball, and softball all held practices.

Protocols and recommendations were put in place by the CDC and the NCAA to ensure players could compete safely. Throughout the process, staff members within the athletic department were crucial in the compliance of these protocols to ensure that competition happened.

Marty Bell, MSEd, former vice president of intercollegiate athletics, DJ Elmore, MA, head athletic trainer, and Kaylee Jones, MS, assistant athletic director, attended countless zoom meetings, set up testing protocol for the athletic department, and balanced jam-packed schedules in the months leading up to the spring competitions.

With the movement of most fall sports to the spring and the continuing COVID-19 concern, challenges are inevitable throughout the spring semester.

“This spring, logistics is a big issue,” said Phil Conover, interim athletic director. “Lumping everything into one season means a lack of officials, bus drivers, and buses, as well as navigating the limited practice and competition space, all while maintaining social distancing and masking protocols. The athletic department staff is putting in so many hours, running the operations of each competition. And, of course, the added challenge of maintaining a strict testing regiment.

We knew moving all athletic competitions to the spring would create challenges. But we prepared for them and are working hard to provide a high-quality experience for our student-athletes.

—Phil Conover, Interim Athletic Director, President Emeritus

Teams had the chance to work through some of these challenges before a regular-season kicked off and became more comfortable with the new testing and quarantine protocols headed by Elmore.

“The university conducted surveillance testing this past fall,” said Elmore. “We randomly selected 25% of each teams’ roster, including coaching staff, and tested them with a PCR test every two weeks regardless if they were symptomatic or not. We did this to jump ahead of the virus, mitigate the risk for other individuals, and not have an outbreak.” The process is different for teams this spring.

We are doing rapid antigen testing, along with PCR testing for certain teams based on the GLVC’s guidelines.

—DJ Elmore, MA, Head Athletic Trainer

“For instance, 100% of the ‘high risk’ teams’ personnel will be tested once a week. For medium and low- contact risk teams such as baseball, lacrosse, and volleyball, 25% of their personnel will be tested every two weeks.”

Once teams pass these testing protocols with no positives, they can take the field. Kaylee Jones oversees the scheduling of QU’s facilities so that teams can train and play games.

I would say the biggest challenge so far is to manage all of the space that is shared by all twenty-one teams.

—Kaylee Jones, MS, Assistant Athletic Director

“Even though a handful of the sports are outdoor sports, they all share the weight room and the (HFC) courts at some point. It has been a fun puzzle to piece together and organize each space at specific times for teams while still trying to keep it fair and follow COVID protocols.”

The spring semester will be unlike any other college athletics has dealt with before. But because of the hard work of dedicated staff, QU stadium lights are on, and the Hawks have taken the field, court, and track once again.