June 8 it is for GHSA fall sports to start getting together
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
As expected, GHSA fall sports teams can start to prepare for restricted conditioning, but they’ll have an extra week to get ready.
The GHSA’s Board of Trustees met online Thursday afternoon for a little more than 45 minutes, and agreed to push back the start date for such activity by a week to June 8, rather than the expected June 1.
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Executive director Robin Hines said that Governor Brian Kemp had given a thumbs up to the GHSA plan. Several board members, after discussion, pushed to start a week later than initially expected.
The public streaming feed on the National Federation of High Schools website of the meeting was all but unusable, with choppy audio, reboots, blurry documents and a variety of audio issues.
The workouts are conditioning only, so nothing sport specific is allowed. The GHSA advises schools having an Infectious Disease Prevention Plan in place prior to starting, and that all who attend are screened before each workout with a questionnaire that inquires about symptoms, etc., and any “yes” answer means a 14-day absence of workouts.
Schools are allowed to have a total of 20 people, including coaches, per sport at any given time at a facility, and those involved can’t change groups, to help limit exposure.
Everything should be cleaned before each workout, with 15 minutes between groups to allow for disinfecting. Showers and locker rooms are not to be used.
And at the bottom of the GHSA guidelines sheet is an understatement: “Recommendations and restrictions are fluid and subject to change. Safety must be our top priority.”
The extra week allows for more preparation, including funding and purchasing the necessary cleaning items, as well the logistics of physicals and communicating specifics to athletes.