By Ariana West
Playing with no fans, having to get temperature checked for every practice, and not knowing whether or not the season will even happen are daily realities athletes in 2020 face everyday. In high school athletics, to college, and even professional, mostly every sport in America has undergone drastic changes since the outbreak of the global pandemic known as COVID-19.
Athletic Director Tom Seitz said in an email that almost all fall sports schedules have been moved to the spring. What happens in the spring still remains to be seen based on what happens with Covid.”
This will lead to difficulties scheduling games and practices if all fall sports will be played in Spring, as almost all fall sports utilize the gym during their seasons. Not only will scheduling be difficult, but eligibility will also come up as an issue.
Seitz hopes by Spring there will be better testing and, even better, a vaccine by spring.
According to Seitz, there will also be either no fans or very limited numbers of fans for the Spring sports seasons. However, these rules are very fluid and constantly changing so what things will look like in the Spring is not for sure.
The NAIA released new recommendations that colleges will continue to follow throughout Spring and Fall. Some of these recommendations included; “A student-athlete will be charged a season of competition when the student participates in more than 50% of the maximum allowable number of intercollegiate contests in any sport. Any participation in NAIA-approved postseason will result in a season charged.”Also, “A team may exceed the traditional limitation of three break periods within its 24-week season, and use an unlimited number of break periods.”
According to the NAIA website, the latest update was on September 21st which means schools such as Simpson, are anxiously awaiting more news to come forth.