OLYMPIA — Now that many schools in Washington have been given the go-ahead from Gov. Jay Inslee to open up more in-person instruction in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, could prep sports and extra-curricular activities be far behind?
That’s what the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and local school officials would like to know.
The WIAA Board put out a statement Wednesday in regards to Inslee’s directive to schools that, “the revised recommendations for in-person learning issued by the Governor’s Office, OSPI and Department of Health show that our state leaders are using all available science and data to drive their decisions. While sports and activities were not covered during the announcement, the WIAA is hopeful that guidelines for extracurricular participation will also be revised to align with the data and information that was presented today.”
The WIAA board is set to meet Jan. 4 to discuss the issue again and possibly make a decision.
On Wednesday, WIAA Executive Director Mick Hoffman said he is hoping WIAA staff can meet with representatives of the Inslee’s office and the state Department of Health early next week to get an update on metrics for extra-curricular activities, as well.
“We haven’t heard anything new to date but are hopeful after yesterday’s announcement [by Inslee],” Hoffman said.
Port Angeles Athletic Director Dwayne Johnson sent out a packet of information to coaches and teachers on the possible return of extra-curricular activities.
“We would assume more specifics will be coming out, but this is a really good sign,” Johnson told coaches and instructors.
Prep sports for the moment are set to begin again in February. The metrics level set a few months ago would only allow high-risk sports such as basketball, football, wrestling and some others to begin only if if the infection rate was below 25 per 100,000 over a two-week period in a county. Moderate- and low-risk sports such as soccer and cross country could begin with higher infection rates.
The problem is, there is virtually nowhere in Washington with an infection rate as low as 25 per 100,000, which means a number of sports couldn’t even get started. However, Inslee’s new direction is encouraging elementary and middle schools to reopen with infection rates as high as 350 per 100,000, which could mean the state Department of Health might change the metrics for sports. The WIAA and schools are hoping for metrics that allow a higher infection rate for starting up many sports considered high-risk.
Preps sports were halted in March by the COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to return.
