Winter sports to begin for Warren County Public Schools

Warren County Public Schools is excited to begin our winter sports on December 7, 2020.  As with all other school events, sports this year will be different than in the past.  Due to the limit on the number of persons allowed in a gathering, per Governor Ralph Northam’s amended Executive Order 67, spectators will be limited to 25 persons.

The number of tickets available to parents of student-athletes will be limited due to the definition of “participant” and “spectator.”  Participants are defined as players, coaches, officials, school event staff and school administration critical to the operations of the contest, media, law enforcement, and medical services.  Spectators are defined as someone not critical to the operation of the contest which includes parents, grandparents, community members, cheerleaders, pep bands, etc., and other student support groups.

The number of spectators are limited to 25 persons, Warren County Public Schools will be allowing WCPS student-athletes’ parents/guardians the first option to attend home games.  Each player will have the opportunity to invite one person to each home game.  Both Skyline and Warren County High School will live stream the competitions to allow others to view the game remotely.  Schools will release more information concerning the number of spectators that will be allowed to attend home games.  This number will be determined as teams are formed and there is a better understanding of the number of tickets that will be needed to allow parents to watch their children participate.

The Virginia High School League (VHSL) has released its “Guidelines for Return to Participation” for school divisions that provide recommendations meant to decrease potential exposure to respiratory droplets by encouraging social distancing, limiting participation in administrative tasks to essential personnel, and allowing for appropriate protective equipment.  The guidance includes cleaning and disinfecting procedures, face-covering protocols, transportation recommendations, and information on running activities safely for individual sports and activities.  WCPS will follow the VHSL “Guidelines for Return to Participation” to ensure the safety of our student-athletes and our school community.

The learning process continues to move forward as we continually modify our plan and adjust as needed.  As new information is obtained, the school division will address those changes as we continue to do our part by mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in our community. Keeping our student-athletes safe is critical during this pandemic. Even though we are looking forward to the return of middle and high school sports, we need to ensure the health and safety of our athletes and our school community.