PAGE 16 | THE VILLAGER • June 4, 2020
BY JESSICA ROE BEHIND THE SCENES STAFF WRITER
The sun is out, temperatures are in the 80s, pools are finally ready to open, sports teams can return to the fields, and gyms are about to reopen their doors. Summer is finally here! “It’s about time! My kids need some sunshine and space to burn their energy after nearly three months pent up inside our home,” said Erin Zahradka. “Personally, I need to get rid of the weight I’ve gained during the pandemic!” It’s been a long wait for parents around the metro area who abided by the Stay at Home and then the Safer at Home public health orders. “Normally our summer is filled with baseball practices and baseball tournaments every weekend. Instead, our son has taken to his bed to play endless video games,” said Julie Seibert, MD. Until this week, team sports of any kind have been prohibited.
Arapahoe High School 2020 graduate Joe Fidler missed his last varsity baseball season due to the pandemic.
season” over the summer. They had been prohibited from conducting practices during the pandemic, until this week. On Monday, the State of Colorado circulated draft rules re-
Theresa Dowling tried her luck on the Blue River north of Breckenridge.
The entire spring high school sports season was cancelled. Both recreational and competitive club teams barely got started before having to cancel their seasons, too. In some cases, parents received refunds or were allowed to carry-over those funds to next season. In other cases, parents paid for an entire season that never happened, and they never received a refund or even a partial credit. Many of those clubs are making it up to parents and players by now offering training in the normal “off
garding parks, sports, and outdoor pools to stakeholders, allowing them to provide feedback on the regulations. Their feedback was due back to the Governor’s office by Wednesday at noon. For organized sports, the proposed rules allowed leagues to now meet in groups up to 25 people outside, or 10 inside. Spectators are discouraged, unless they are strictly six feet apart. “As a neurologist, I am in the hospital with direct exposure to COVID-19 positive patients,” said
Dr. Seibert. “It is hard to know how to factor that into my kids desire to have some summer fun.” Dr. Siebert has walked the fine line of advocating for her student athlete to get outside and away from the screen, while also keeping him safe. “While Coloradans have made tremendous sacrifices in suppressing the virus in practicing social distancing, good hygiene, and wearing a mask in public, we are still not out of the woods,” said Dr. Jill Hunsaker Ryan, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), earlier this week. Athletes of all ages should be back on the fields soon as recreational and competitive clubs get parents and athletes up-to-speed on the new parameters. “I miss seeing them play and yelling their names with pride and hugging them at the end of the game win or lose!” said Kennetha Julien, mother of two elementary age baseball players. “I love baseball, but I love my boys more. It is sad to see and experience the loss of an entire season but I am happy to see our coaches and organization being cautious to protect all of the boys and girls of the league.” For many parents, this summer has been an opportunity to introduce their kids to the ‘old fashioned’ days of summer. The Villager Newspaper found several children and teens wading in creeks,
DCPA Theatre Company cancels locally produced 2020/21 Season Nine locally-produced plays are impacted
Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts regrets to announce the cancellation of its 2020/21 DCPA Theatre Company season. Since March 13, the DCPA has postponed or cancelled 25 shows, two fundraisers, hundreds of classes and numerous events. The announcement means the cancellation of nine locally-produced plays including: • Angry, Raucous &
fishing in rivers, biking on the High Line Canal, and even riding in carriages behind Clydesdale horses. “Honestly, I have been so grateful for the fact that we are not traveling or practicing or having games with sports and that our kids’ friends are not doing that either,” said AnnMarie Anderson. “The kids are free to go wade in the creek, find rope swings, fish, play driveway basketball, corn hole, ghost in the graveyard, mow lawns for others, and a whole host of normal living.” According to the new proposed rules, playgrounds will no longer be prohibited, however only 10 individuals at a time will be able to use the equipment.
spoke to expect to open by Saturday or Sunday. The guidance for pools called for no more than 50 people or 50% capacity - whichever is fewer - per pool. Of all the guidelines originally proposed, this seemed to be the most debated, given some outdoor pools are Olympic size and can normally hold several hundred people. Watch for that figure in the final draft. The state also instructed pool operators to monitor individuals and require that inside the perimeter of the pool property, visitors stay six feet away from
The High Line Canal has seen a regular pace of foot, bicycle and equine traffic throughout the pandemic.
Outdoor sports facilities, such as tennis, basketball and pickleball courts, will be limited to 10 people at a time. Indoor gyms will soon reopen to their members. Group training is permitted but limited to 10 people at a time, however they must maintain six feet of distance. The use of shared equipment is discouraged. The Villager Newspaper surveyed several national and local gyms, all of which have varying timeframes. Most gym spokespeople said they expect to begin opening this coming weekend or early next week. Most pool operators we
responsible decision was to protect the DCPA’s resources now in order to return for a robust and resilient 2021/22 season. The DCPA’s Board Shamelessly Gorgeous of Trustees will revisit • The Children this decision in Oc• A Christmas Carol tober and, if cirThe DCPA is heartbroken to cancel • Emma cumstances allow, its 2020/21 Theatre Company season. • In the Upper make every effort These locally-produced plays are Room to return to the central to our mission and beloved by • Light Up the Sky stage this coming audiences. We’ve established a Recovery • Mojada spring. Fund at denvercenter.org/support-us to • Rattlesnake Kate In the interim, ensure that our story continues and • Who’s Afraid of renovations to the with the community’s help, we’ll Virginia Woolf? Helen Bonfils Theatre return to the stage next year! Recently, the DCPA – Suzanne Yoe Complex will continue so Director of Communications announced it would dethat the theatres are ready & Cultural Affairs lay and reduce the Theatre to reopen for the Company’s Company lineup. However, return to the stage. The comafter further evaluation and munity is invited to engage extensive scenario planning, it with @denvercenter on social was determined that the most media for #DCPAMemories,
each other, unless they are from the same household. The state also recommended a reservation system be set up by operators of pools, courts, and group classes at gyms. No specific details were provided, however, on how to best comply with such regulations. “Along with making online tee times and dining reservations, our members will be making pool and gym reservations,” said Teri Kubik, Membership and Marketing Director at Glenmoor Country Club. For more information on the state’s final guidelines, visit covid19.colorado.gov.
artist videos and additional programming options to be announced in June. Subscribers who have renewed into the 2020/21 DCPA Theatre Company season* will receive an email with the option to receive a credit, request a refund or donate the package value. Visit denvercenter.org/ response for a complete list of impacted events. For press inquiries relating to the DCPA’s response to COVID-19, please contact Suzanne Yoe, Director of Communications, at 303-446-4886 or syoe@dcpa.org. *Please note: this does not apply the to 2020/21 Broadway subscription package.
