Scott Radley: What school sports will look like this fall

As you surely recall, school sports were wiped out last year by COVID. With a million unknowns about the virus and students largely learning from home, they were a non-starter.

But they've been given the green light to return this fall. So what will sports look like when the kids head back to class in a few weeks?

In short, pretty normal. We think.

OK, normal-ish. Probably.

As normal a return to sports as possible," says Hamilton Catholic board chair Pat Daly.

The plan is that we will have pretty much a full return," adds public board chair Dawn Danko.

But - oh yes, there's a but, there are a number of buts - this may well be a moving target. Nobody knows what's going to happen with the Delta variant and a fourth wave of COVID. Things that are planned today could change tomorrow. Schedules could end up being altered if need be. Danko calls it all a puzzle.

It's subject to circumstances depending on how things go," Daly says.

Outdoor sports are relatively easy to imagine right now, they both say. Yes, sports like football or soccer require close contact but they're outdoors. Provincial health protocols have given the thumbs up to playing them without masks. So they're likely fine.

It's indoors where things get complicated. Take basketball, for example.

We're working through the details of what does it look like to have a high-contact sport where it would be very challenging to wear masks as you're running up and down the court," Danko says.

So you might see gym doors and windows open where possible to increase ventilation. Substitute players may be spaced out rather than sitting together on the sidelines. The province has called for high-touch surfaces and equipment to be cleaned often.

There might even be modifications to the way the game is played. Danko mentions three-on-three rather than five-on-five for example. Or other tweaks in other sports.

I don't think we can rule anything out at this point," she says.

However, she says if these kinds of big changes are adopted it's more likely that would be done at the elementary level where sports are more about access than high-level competition.

But she and Daly both say safety is the first concern. That - with direction from public health and provincial guidelines - will drive all the decisions.

Ultimately we want to offer sports but our real goal is to keep schools open this fall," she says.

As for classmates, fans and parents who want to watch games, there's no clear answer yet on whether that'll be allowed. For outdoor sports, it'll probably happen. Indoor sports in high school? Possibly. Indoor in elementary gyms that tend to be smaller? Questionable.

Danko says the board might look to move some elementary games to high school gyms to find bigger space so parents could watch. It might even attempt to stream games online if that can be done within privacy rules. But those are just blue-sky ideas right now.

Regardless of where or how they play, students will not have to be vaccinated to participate. As of today, anyway.

The Chief Medical Officer of Health for Ontario, Dr. (Kieran) Moore, clearly stated in a press conference, I think it was about two weeks ago, that there will be no stipulations that someone would have to be vaccinated to participate in a sport or extracurricular activity," Danko says.

Daly echoes that. So, no.

That said, Moore has stated that any student who isn't vaccinated and is exposed to COVID will have to isolate for 10 days and have two negative tests before returning to school. If the second one is positive, that student would have to stay away for an additional 10 days.

That would potentially mean sitting out for a huge chunk of the season.

What about those students who've chosen to be remote learners and do their courses online this year? Can they do that but then show up after class to play on a team?

Both boards say yes. However, there are some wrinkles that have yet to be ironed out. Such as, since some online classes will be originating from one school, would a student have to play for that school or play for the school in their catchment area?

That's one of the logistical pieces that needs to be worked through," Danko says.

Regardless, she doesn't think this will be a big issue since many choosing this method of schooling will be doing so because of health issues or other concerns and will be less likely to sign up for sports.

Of course, everything is dependant upon coaches.

Teams are run by teacher volunteers. If the usual complement of teachers doesn't sign up to coach out of worry for their health or any other reason, some teams might have to be scrapped.

Daly remains hopeful, though. He says he truly believes the return of sports and other extracurriculars is crucial for students' mental health and keeps them engaged in school.

But ...

Will it look the exact same?" Daly says. For sure not."

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com