Monday, Jan. 4 might have marked the official start of the winter sports season for some of New York State’s high school athletes, but a Dec. 30 announcement by the New York State Public High School Athletics Association Executive Director Dr. Robert Zayas dealt a major blow to those student-athletes hoping to participate in basketball or hockey this year.
In the face of mounting pressure from students and parents, Zayas confirmed via Twitter last Wednesday that the NYSPHSAA currently has no timetable to allow students to engage in sports deemed to be “high-risk” by state officials.
“At this time there is no definitive timeline for authorization of high risk sports to resume competition,” he wrote. “We’ll continue working with state officials & our member schools to determine when it is safe to compete. Low/moderate [risk] sports can begin as previously authorized by the state.”
The coronavirus pandemic has altered the high school sports landscape greatly since last March, leading to the wholesale cancelation of the 2020 spring campaign and forcing low-and-medium risk sports—including soccer and field hockey—to condense its seasons and eliminate all statewide tournaments in the fall. The 2021 winter season—delayed by Section I officials until Jan. 11—will feature a limited slate of offerings as bowling, gymnastics, boys swimming, indoor track and skiing will be permitted to hold competitions, whereas ice hockey, basketball, cheerleading and wrestling will remain sidelined.
New York State’s COVID-19 numbers have spiked since September, and the Westchester County Department of Health has announced that there are currently 9,311 active coronavirus cases in the county, as of Jan. 4, but Zayas’ announcement drew ire from those who believe that state health officials are ignoring information from other agencies in the nation.
Neighboring states like Connecticut and New Jersey will both resume indoor high school sports this month.
Rye hockey coach Peter Thomas—whose Garnets team may miss out on a chance to defend its Section I title this year—questioned the NYSPHSAA classification of ice hockey as a high-risk activity. The National Federation of State High School Associations, NFHS, which oversees most state associations in the nation including the NYSPHSAA, has classified ice hockey as a medium-risk sport, according to its guidelines.
“Why is there no discussion of moving ice hockey back to moderate risk as it was designated by the NFHS?” Thomas said. “There is no logical reason for ice hockey to be considered high risk based on [New York State Department of Health] criteria.”
In the standards published on its website, the NFHS deems moderate-risk sports to include those that “involve close, sustained contact, but with protective equipment in place that may reduce the likelihood of respiratory particle transmission between participants or close intermittent contact.”
The current winter season is scheduled to run through April. High risk fall sports that were not allowed to compete in October—including football and volleyball—were initially scheduled for a “Fall II” session that would commence on March 1, although the viability of those seasons is now in question.
