Administrators to continue sports with no pause
Friday saw a lot of high school athletes holding their breath, but it ap- pears that their concerns will not become a reality as of now.
During a press conference to update the state of Michigan on rising COVID-19 case numbers, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer didn’t put on any new restrictions to high school athletics, but did strongly suggest that high school athletics be put on a twoweek pause.
In response, the Michigan High School Athletic Association released the following statement:
We are on schedule to finish basketball over the next two days, and it will be up to schools to decide what they will do locally for spring sports over the next two weeks. Our next tournament events aren’t until midMay.
With the decision being forced upon administrators around the state, any official word from Oakland County schools has been for sports to continue as scheduled. With many schools and districts deliberating on Friday and throughout the weekend, some decisions on the matter may not be made official until Monday. As more official statements are released, we will provide updates.
As of this writing, no Oakland County schools have released a statement that they will be pausing high school athletics for two weeks.
Pointing toward the antigen testing program required for all athletes as of April 2, some school administrators believe student-athletes are being properly monitored and kept safe. The testing program was used to finish fall tournaments in football, volleyball and girls swimming & diving. It was also used in the winter for all wrestlers.
“Detroit Catholic Central, along with many schools across the state, has started testing all spring athletes in an effort to let them play. They wear masks under helmets, on the field, on the track, and on the golf course. On our end, we will continue to control what we can and protect our scholar-athletes through protocols and testing,” Detroit Catholic Central Director of Athletics Aaron Babicz said.
Novi Athletic Director Brian Gor
don released a statement on the matter as well, stating that the Wildcats will continue spring sports as planned.
“As an athletic community, we plan to continue our spring sports programming as scheduled. We will continue practicing proper precautionary measures and administering rapid testing of all spring athletes,” Gordon said.
Rochester Community Schools also announced their intentions to continue with spring sports in a statement released on Friday evening
“At this time, Rochester Community Schools intends to continue in-person learning and sporting activities as scheduled with strict mitigation protocols in place, unless otherwise directed by the Oakland County Health Division (OCHD),” the statement read.
Lake Orion and Troy Schools released similar statements on Friday evening also confirming they would continue with scheduled athletics, while Clarkston administration confirmed it would also be proceeding with athletics under the current MDHHS guidelines.
Around Oakland County, high school sporting events for the weekend were promoted to be on as scheduled following Whitmer’s press conference.
The MHSAA, along with many school administrators, have expressed an importance on spring athletes getting a full 2021 season after they lost their entire 2020 season. Spring sports was the only season to see no competition of any kind in the 2019-20 school year.