Actually, I’m in favor of President Raymond trusting the science of her bubble more and allowing any activity, athletic or not, that can be modified to be done safely to take place. Everyone is tested frequently and wears masks.
Choir practice is a big non-no indoors, but even that can be modified to be safer.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way” doesn’t seem to be her mantra.
And no one imagines for 1 moment there are spectators at any of these activities.
I don’t think asking for a modified season is risking the health of any members of the community, or I wouldn’t be a fan. I’m a doctor, for crying out loud!
I can’t see why chess club, or debate or theatre or anything else can’t be modified to be safe enough. So do it.
And I’m always in favor of agency and input before decisions are made…
I trust the science and I trust @OldbatesieDoc but mostly I trust my own eyes. Our son’s BS played a modified indoor schedule with zero issues, multiple testing, mask wearing and fans limited to students and with proper social distancing. This spring will be close to a full schedule with all of the above precautions. We wish more than anything that we could see him play in person but the school will live stream the events so that’s something. The main thing is that we are thrilled that our school values the whole student experience, trusts the science and allows sports and EC’s to continue. They are even having a spring play. Do Haverford students really need to be coddled so severely when so many other schools have already shown the proper way to deal with sports and EC’s? Again I say, Play ball!
Leadership would be - and not just here - but all of society shutting down and enforcing the distancing we need. Again, it’s not just athletes - it’s coaches, bus drivers, cooks, nurses. Ohio State suspended football again and Duke had to cancel its basketball season. The only reason they even try is MONEY.
The Rangers are opening in baseball to full capacity.
Everyone is so selfish - this would have long been gone had people taken the necessary precautions. They still aren’t.
You all mention science - every scientist is saying - shut it down. Instead we are opening up and we are just going to spike - again.
It stinks - but it’s the reality of our world today.
Not sure why you are assuming “spikes” at this stage of the pandemic … per my earlier post, our school has been essentially completely OPEN since mid-august last year. No such spikes or outbreaks AT ALL. Every single sport/team played a complete season (plus practices and postseason). So … with proper measures in place as have been, kids here have had a pretty normal year. Now, with the robust supply of vaccines (right now 78% of seniors 65+ in our county have been vaccinated and it is widely available to others, so we are even more hopeful.
Sorry if you don’t want to hear or believe that things are indeed going well elsewhere and life CAN proceed with relative safety, respectful of the virus, but it is 
true.
It’s not “selfish” to want to be allowed to take part in an activity that is proven safe. It’s selfish to deprive any group of an activity they enjoy for the sake of false caution. At nursing homes, vaccinated seniors are playing cards again. The risk probably isn’t zero, so is it selfish to let them participate in a life-affirming activity?
Talk about false equivalency… Fully vaccinated visitors can’t see my fully vaccinated mother either inside or outside…but she is allowed to play cards with her fellow residents is your argument for inter-collegiate sports?
Sidenote: Kansas just withdrew from the Big 12 BB tournament due to a positive test. They are the 4th team in the last 2 days to cancel. Sure, it’s indoors…but they are playing in rooms built for 20,000 people.
You are a small pin prick in a giant bubble…yes, it can be done - but too many people aren’t…and all of us have to suffer because of that.
I know it can be done. I wish it would be done. But it isn’t being done in large scale and unfortunately we all have to share the sacrifice.
That’s all I’m saying. It’s like medical insurance. You may never go to the Dr. but you pay a lot…because it’s a shared pool of risk.
One school may be great…10 schools…and now you are mixing contacts…it’s an issue.
Right now when someone gets diagnosed positive, it takes them days to figure out when they had it and by then too many contacts have happened.
The reason the NBA went off ok last year- they were in one place and were not allowed to leave - so covid could not come in. If you left, you got suspended and couldn’t come back til you quarantined long enough to ensure you didn’t have it.
I get everyone is dreaming. Everyone wants what we all deserve.
It’s just not reality - that’s all I’m saying.
As a Bi-Co alum (of many years ago), what sounds most troubling about this is the apparent lack of communication and consensus-building in a community which values both. Communication matters, especially in troubling times. If President Raymond had met with students, shared concerns and listened – even if she reached the same decision to suspend all athletic competitions and training – the process would have been engaged and inclusive, bringing students, parents, and others along with her. This year has been full of overwhelming challenges, and no school has been, or could be expected to manage perfectly, but this sounds like a missed opportunity.
It’s not a dream but IS indeed reality here and there is no reason is should not be in PA as well. Our state “bubble” has been punctured from the start given our good weather and tourist industry and yet we still have managed in a common sense manner.
Would hardly characterize Texas and Florida “pin pricks” with populations #2 and 3 in the country … roughly 30 million people ! All HS’s in our area played full/regular schedules (traveling to away games etc) without issue. Bottom line is things have been handled differently in some states which is why we are literally being flooded with people moving here from the NE. At this point, it is no longer about “following the science” and I question the decisions being made at this school and how they would impact my student beyond athletics.
Right! There was a way for a skillful leader to get buy-in. And she never even graced any of our emails prior to her announcement with a reply. Not even “Appreciate the input, will consider as we make our deliberations.” Not really what you expect from the President of a small, supposedly personal LAC.
A lot of conferences have adjusted the way they play this year. My daughter’s conference has 13 schools, although not all played her sport. Usually they play 7-9 games with non-conference opponents and then the final 6 or 7 with conference opponents, then play offs, then the NCAA championships (if invited). This year they are just playing conference team, once at home and once away. Not sure what’s happening with tournaments and championships, but who cares, they get to play ~14 games without leaving the state. The other thing that’s different is the timing. Usually they played starting in Feb and were really done by late April. Now they aren’t starting until the end of March.
PAC 12 started with only allowing conference games. It didn’t work out that well for football so they allowed a few non-conference games, usually with instate rivals. They still only allow family of players and coaches to attend, even outside venues (although really? just go and stand there).
Lots of adjustments, but they can be done to make it a meaningful season.
Has the NCAA announced a red-shirt season for schools not participating in the sport this year? They did for 2020, but some students could run out of eligibility if they need 2 extra seasons.
My daughter was trying out for an international team last year. The tournament was to be played in July 2021 and now it’s July 2022. She may try out, but things will be different. She’ll be a year older, a year further removed from playing, and there will be more players trying out for the same number of spots Covid sucks.
For 2020-21, NCAA DI/II and NAIA Fall and Winter athletes have an extra year of eligibility, even if they played their sport during this time frame.
NCAA DIII and NJCAA F/W/Spring athletes have an extra year of eligibility, even if they played their sport during this time frame. So, D3 and NJCAA spring athletes now have an extra two years of eligibility.
@twoinanddone, I hear you. My daughter was also planning to try out last summer for a team to play in an international tournament. Tournament has been postponed until July 2022 and tryouts are now this summer. Wonder if it is the same one . . .
So much of this reminds me of the first 1000 pages of the old “School in the 2020-2021 Academic Year & Coronavirus” thread begun last spring. In both instances the OP was the parent of a track & field varsity athlete. IIRC, the OP in that other thread had a particular beef against the wearing of masks in the privacy of her child’s dorm room. This went on for months. So, I’m wondering whether there isn’t something about track and field that triggers these extreme reactions that, in general, I haven’t seen from parents of football, BB, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, wrestling, tennis or squash players?
Honestly I would never have advocated for an indoor sport. To scientists, as a respiratory pathogen, COVID transmission is all about air exchange. The analogy I use with my patients is that it’s like a fish tank filling up with covid. How many fish are in there and what’s the volume of the tank?
The outdoors is an infinitely sized tank, so risk is minuscule if not zero.
I don’t follow the news all that much, but read an interesting article this morning.
Nearly a year after California ordered the nation’s first statewide shutdown because of the coronavirus, masks remain mandated, indoor dining and other activities are significantly limited, and Disneyland remains closed.
By contrast, Florida has no statewide restrictions, municipalities are prohibited from fining people who refuse to wear masks, and Disney World has been open since July.
California and Florida both have a COVID-19 case rate of around 8,900 per 100,000 residents since the pandemic began, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And both rank in the middle among states for COVID-19 death rates — Florida was 27th as of Friday; California was 28th.
Connecticut and South Dakota are another example. Both rank among the 10 worst states for COVID-19 death rates. Yet Connecticut imposed numerous statewide restrictions over the past year after an early surge in deaths, while South Dakota issued no mandates as virus deaths soared in the fall and even launched a $5 million tourism advertising campaign.
How does this relate to the Haverford situation? Well, I’m thinking they probably could have done things differently if those chose, but they also have the right to do what they want. Will their decision have an impact on whether future athletes choose to attend Haverford over say W&L who is playing this spring? Hard to tell. Would you move to South Dakota instead of Connecticut if you had to choose one or the other?
Totally disagree (which is ok). This would not be completely gone… as it’s an infectious disease and the only ways to make it go away are via vaccination and complete lockdown (everywhere). The latter can not happen in our society. So the various models that have been employed throughout the country essentially show the same results. CA had the most rigorous lockdowns and their results were no better than FL with far fewer restraints. The folks who own businesses and have poured their life’s savings and work into them are not being selfish when they can operate safely. Lots of people cannot stay home and survive. They have to make a living. They’ve shown they can do that safely with a lot of precautions implemented. Other similar size schools have been able to do this. Leadership decision show priorities. Having as full of a student experience while maintaining safety is hard work but quite doable (as it’s being done many places) . Apparently not a priority here.
I have two kids going to different schools. They both have essentially no virus spread. One is far more active than the other including letting students attend athletic events, ECs with up to 50 kids if masked and outside (smaller group inside), etc. They have no spread. The other school is essentially activity dead. Totally different experience for the kids resulting in borderline depression for the one. Doesn’t need to be that way.
My son is a HS senior and we are having a T&F season, but every meet there is a team that can’t participate due to Covid.
Does the article state how many lives Connecticut saved through its state wide restrictions?
I suggest you google it 