Gov. Wolf: Shutdown of high school sports will end Monday
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Wednesday, December 30, 2020 | 1:22 PM
Mars’ Alek Johnson wears a mask during warmups before a game against North Catholic on Dec. 11, 2020, in Cranberry.
Mars’ Mihali Sfanos works against Knoch’s Ryan Lang during their game on Friday, Dec. 11, 2020, in Adams.
Yough point guard Kaylynn Odelli works out during practice on Dec. 3.
Riverview’s Liam McElligott practices Dec. 3.
After a three-week pause of interscholastic sports, it’s time to push “play.”
Gov. Tom Wolf announced Wednesday his administration’s ban on extra-curricular activities won’t be extended, allowing high school teams statewide to resume their seasons next week. His covid-19 order expires at 8 a.m. Monday.
The order kept sports teams from practicing or competing since Dec. 12.
It also limited attendance at events to 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors, tight restrictions that will be lifted as well. Other mitigation measures ending Monday include a ban on indoor dining.
“There have been some positive signs lately,” Wolf said. “Our statewide positivity rate went down this week for the second week in a row. While the number of hospitalizations and deaths remain entirely too high in Pennsylvania, it appears the number of new cases reported each day has plateaued. That means our mitigation efforts over the past several weeks have done what they were intended to do.”
Wednesday’s announcement eased concerns of coaches and athletes worried this shutdown would resemble last March, when a two-week pause extended into the summer, causing spring sports to be canceled entirely.
However, the PIAA maintained an optimistic outlook during this shutdown and in recent days made preparations for an early-January restart. PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi had indicated from the start that he didn’t believe this shutdown would drag on for months.
“I take them for their word that it’s a pause,” Lombardi said Dec. 11, a day after Wolf revealed the shutdown plans.
Teams can resume practice Monday, but they can’t immediately compete.
Under a PIAA policy adopted last month, teams this winter must complete at least 10 preseason practices before starting competition, with a minimum of four workouts after the shutdown.
Teams that meet all preseason requirements can schedule contests as soon as Jan. 8.
Many teams squeezed in one regular-season contest hours before the shutdown took effect, but they too must now complete four practices before resuming their season.
The governor’s announcement means those workouts now are only days away.
“This does not mean that we’re out of the woods,” Wolf said. “Not by any means. We still have significant mitigation efforts in place. All mitigation orders that were put into place prior to Dec. 12, they remain in effect.”
Attendance limits at events will return to a percentage-of-capacity formula announced previously, Wolf said. His administration’s mask mandate also remains in place.
On Nov. 23, Wolf limited events held at indoor venues with a capacity of 2,000 people or less to 15% of capacity. Venues that hold between 2,001 and 10,000 are capped at 10%. Places larger than 10,000 can allow only 5% with a maximum of 2,500.
“We need to continue to work together to slow the spread of covid-19, because if we get complacent and let case numbers begin to go back up, the danger to our communities, to our families, to our health-care system will return with swift and deadly consequences,” Wolf said.
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.
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