Allegheny County schools can play football under health department’s 50-person limit

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, August 21, 2020 | 2:27 PM

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The PIAA voted to allow high school sports to proceed on schedule. Allegheny County schools got a double dose of good news.

Allegheny County schools will be able to play games at home, the WPIAL and Allegheny County Health Department announced Friday in a joint statement. The county’s 50-person limit on outdoor gatherings remains in effect, but ACHD said there can be more than one “pod” of 50 inside a stadium.

Under the guidance issued Friday, each sideline would be a separate “pod” and need to have fewer than 50 people. The players involved in competition would count as a third “pod.”

The guidelines cover all outdoor fall sports, but football was the one most impacted by the 50-person limit.

“We sincerely appreciate (ACHD’s) willingness to work within the confines of their guidance to allow schools the opportunity to create a safe environment for student-athletes to participate in outdoor interscholastic athletic events this fall,” the WPIAL said in a statement.

Spectators remain prohibited from attending interscholastic sports activities.

A stadium cannot exceed the 250-person statewide limit put in place by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration. Allegheny County ordered a strict 50-person limit locally when covid-19 cases increased in early July.

That local restriction would have prevented Allegheny County schools from hosting football games.

Even games involving two small schools typically have more than 50 players, not counting coaches, trainers, officials and other game-day personnel. Large schools can have close to 80 players or more on a roster.

This requirement could force schools to limit the game-day rosters to players who might participate, meaning junior varsity athletes won’t dress for varsity contests.

The WPIAL and ACHD included a list of requirements:

Events must be hosted at a facility where regulation can occur.

An administrator and/or designee must be present to monitor gatherings and ensure compliance.

Teams and/or pods must not exceed the gathering size of 50 people in a close proximity to each other (such as individual sidelines, on the competition area during a contest, or in a section of the bleachers).

While on the sidelines and not engaged in competition, coaches, athletes and staff should have a face covering and keep 6 feet of distance between each other.

Athletes and coaches should comply with their school’s health and safety plans with regard to health screenings before practice and competition.

Events should be limited to the time necessary for appropriate warm-up and competition. Schools should avoid arriving at a facility well in advance of the starting time and should leave as soon as possible after the completion of the competition. There shall be no congregating in groups after the event.

The total facility capacity can not exceed the state mandate of 250 individuals.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.