State releases covid-19 guidelines for restarting PIAA sports

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, June 10, 2020 | 12:12 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Gov. Tom Wolf released covid-19 guidelines for restarting PIAA sports Wednesday, clearing the way for high school sports teams statewide to begin offseason workouts.

But before those workouts can take place, the guidelines require every school district to create a detailed health and safety plan that’s approved by the school board and posted online. The return-to-play plan must align with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and requirements announced last week by the state education department for reopening schools.

Once that plan is school board approved, teams can begin voluntary workouts immediately, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said.

“We might see some before the end of the week,” he said.

Schools aren’t required to submit the plan to the PIAA or the departments of health and education for approval. According to the guidelines, interscholastic sports can resume in either the “yellow” or “green” phase of Wolf’s color-coded reopening system, meaning the entire state is eligible.

“That includes all 67 counties, which I think is terrific,” Lombardi said. “It will let kids be kids and do the things they love to do: play athletics.”

PIAA teams have been prohibited from working out together since Wolf closed school buildings March 13. The PIAA board at its May meeting voted to let teams resume voluntary workouts — once the governor approved — but schools waited weeks for this guidance from Wolf’s administration.

Youth sports leagues not affiliated with schools already have restarted in many counties.

“Thankfully, we have something to work from,” said West Allegheny athletic director Dave McBain, an athletic trainer and member of the PIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

“The biggest thing was the frustration of not having anything and getting piecemeal information from different sources,” McBain said. “Now, school districts and athletic departments can put our plans on paper, have internal discussions with our stakeholders and put those plans in place.”

The question becomes: How soon will districts request and receive school board approval?

“I think (by the end of this week) is a little presumptive,” McBain said. “But it’s a big state with 500 school districts. You’ve got a lot of folks who’ve been pent up and kept inside for a while.”

Some requirements in the guidelines are harder to meet than others.

For example, sports equipment and other personal items “should be separated and not shared,” according to the state guidelines. If equipment must be shared, all equipment should be disinfected between users.

“I don’t know how that’s going to happen,” McBain said. “Are we supposed to have 12 volleyballs on a court and 22 soccer balls on a field? It’s not feasible. We’ll clean our sport implements the best we can, when that time comes.”

Practices and games in “yellow” counties are limited to 25 people. In “green” counties, the limit is 250. Also, facilities may not exceed 50% of their total occupancy allowed by law.

Coaches are encouraged to wear face coverings at all times.

Athletes must adhere to social-distance requirements “including in the field of play, locker rooms, sidelines, dugouts, benches and workout areas.” Coaches and players should not congregate.

Athletes must be screened and monitored for covid-19 symptoms before and during workouts. An athlete who’s ill or has a temperature of 100.4 or higher must be sent home.

“There is a lot of information to digest, so I’m sorting through the guidelines,” Derry athletic director Brett Miller said. “I’ve been fortunate because the athletic directors in the county had an idea what the guidelines would look like. I’ve been fortunate to see some other schools’ plans.”

These guidelines are strictly for summer workouts, not competition in the fall.

“It’s a lot to go through,” Burrell athletic director Drake D’Angelo said. “I just got out of a meeting with my principal and superintendent and nurse and athletic trainer about coming together and putting together a written document to get board approval.”

The PIAA released a letter last week urging school administrators to start making their own tentative plans based on guidelines already available from the CDC, National Federation of State High School Associations, UPMC and the state education department.

Schools that did so have a head start on this process. Most already had started at least internal discussions before last week.

“We met with our trainers and nurse over the last few weeks and set guidelines based on Phase 2 of the (NFHS) plan,” Penn-Trafford athletic director Kerry Hetrick said.

Penn-Trafford’s school board meets Monday, so its covid-19 plan could be voted on and enacted swiftly. ​Coaches will meet with a school-formed safety committee Thursday to discuss the regulations.​

Hetrick said school officials will be given a summary of the information to look over this weekend.​

“Hopefully, we can get back to (workouts) next week,” he said. “We have been adamant about getting a plan together, and we think it can work. It’s our job to make sure the kids’ safety comes first.”

Many other districts will need more time.

Miller said Derry’s plan will be ready for its June 25 meeting. Burrell’s school board meets June 23.

“We are going to continue working and do the best that we possibly can with the hope that our plan can be reviewed and voted on by the school board by July 1 at the latest,” Jeannette athletic director Ryan Hayden said. “Our main priority right now is to get our fall teams up and running as quickly and safely as possible.”

When the PIAA board met in May, the group was optimistic teams could resume workouts before July, but many schools probably won’t have enough time.

Along with writing a plan, districts must train staff and acquire supplies.

“A good target date is July 1,” D’Angelo said, “because of everything we still have to get in place.”

Lombardi said the guidelines let school districts tailor plans to their specific needs. A one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t work in every region of the state or for schools with different enrollments.

However, some administrators would’ve preferred more.

“I know there are some counties in different circumstances, but I was hoping there would be a standard across the state rather than letting each group come up with it on their own,” Plum athletic director Josh Shoop said. “I was hoping there would be a little more structure to what they wanted the schools to do.

“It is a step in the right direction, but it still creates a lot of questions.”

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.