By SARAH PARKER | County Line Editor
In another example of disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, all Brookwood fall sports will be played in the spring this year, athletic director Ken Clinton informed the Norwalk-Ontario-Wilton Board of Education at its regular meeting Monday.
Last Friday, the WIAA agreed to allow school districts to select a “spring option” and move football, volleyball and cross country to a newly created season between winter and spring sports. In essence, without firm state direction, each school district has been left to make its own decision regarding fall sports.
The Scenic Bluffs Conference athletic directors and superintendents met Monday and came close to a consensus that a season postponement would be the most acceptable solution for fall. A few more meetings Wednesday will likely tip the scale, said Royall School District Superintendent Mark Gruen. Royall will discuss the matter further at its regular meeting Monday.
The reasons for the postponement are manifold, Clinton told the N-O-W board. “This isn’t a lightly made decision,” he said.
Safety was a main factor, he said. “We have to make every effort to ensure the safety of our kids. If we go in the fall, I can’t guarantee this. Simple fact.”
For example, he noted that at a recent cross-country practice, students quickly needed to be reminded to practice safety measures.
Furthermore, “I don’t see a cross country meet as particularly safe,” Clinton added.
As for football, “I can’t in good conscience tell my kids in school to wear your mask and socially distance, and then send 40 kids out in the football field … It’s not a matter of if somebody gets infected, it’s when. If one kid goes, we’ll probably quarantine the entire team, and the season’s over, basically.”
The same principles apply to volleyball, he said.
Another complicating factor is that some Scenic Bluffs schools already will have to delay their seasons. The Juneau County Health Department recently recommended that sports not begin until Oct. 1, which may already eliminate fall sports in September for Royall, Wonewoc-Center, Necedah and New Lisbon. Bangor, which is in La Crosse County, will not have fall sports at least for the time being, as instruction there will be virtual only at the start of the school year.
“We have a desire to keep our conference together,” Clinton said. “One of the big pluses in our conference is despite the fact that when we’re on the court and on the field, we are tense competitors against each other, we are very tight among the schools. I consider all of the athletic directors to be my friends, and I think if you talk to a lot of the athletes, some of their closest friends are from other schools in our conference. They spend time together; some of them date each other. They are friends, and to break up that bond is an issue.”
Another problem is the growing number of events that have been canceled.
“We’re not going to have any opportunities for our kids anyway,” Clinton said.
Cross country already has been reduced to about four meets, all of them with Scenic Bluffs schools, he said. Because cross country already has begun, the team will be allowed to compete at a small meet in Westby, and then the program will be shut down.
Although it’s not official, Clinton predicted there would not be a state cross-country meet this fall.
And, at present, volleyball has no nonconference events, he added.
Moreover, the falls sports season could begin and then halt again in perhaps two weeks due to a Covid-19 outbreak, Clinton said.
“I think the idea of moving it to the spring is we’ll have a little more confidence that we can get through this.”
He later added, “I want something for our kids to do in the fall. But I also don’t want to build up their dreams and shatter them in three weeks and say, ‘We’re done.’ I saw that last spring. I don’t want to see that again. Nobody in our conference wants that.”
A particularly sensitive issue, he said, is fans likely would not be allowed to attend many events this fall. A number of schools have already said no to spectators.
“That might be one of the touchiest issues of all, telling parents they can’t watch their kids” he said. “We can livestream it, but I don’t know how satisfied people will be.”
Physical activity still is important, Clinton noted, and he is considering other options, such as open gyms, intramural sports, team-building activities, and strength and conditioning exercises.
“This year, to me, is not about winning state titles and winning conference champions. It’s about giving our kids quality athletic experiences and letting them learn some things. It’s the best I can do.”
