CHICOPEE – High school athletes will be allowed to play five sports this fall but only after a long debate and a School Committee vote reconsideration about bringing back volleyball.

The committee voted unanimously to allow gymnastics, golf and cross country, which have little person-to-person contact and are considered the safest sports to participate in during the coronavirus pandemic. They were more divided on permitting boys and girls soccer, eventually voting 8-4 to allow it. The committee first rejected a proposal to allow girls to play volleyball in a 6-6 vote but then reconsidered the option and allowed it 8-4 on a second vote.

“They are inside, it’s too confined. We worked hard to get back to school and this could be the undoing,” School Committee member Donald Lamothe said about volleyball. “I think it is a risk that isn’t worth taking.”

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, which oversees high school sports, ruled in August that seven sports could run from Sept. 18 through Nov. 20 and set multiple precautions including requiring students to wear masks at specific times and modifying rules prevent close contact.

The association also set a second season for fall sports to run from February to April for schools which bowed out of sports in September. At least one city parent complained the second season would interfere with spring sports run by clubs and would limit students’ abilities to be seen by college recruiters and be awarded scholarships.

Chicopee athletic director Sean Mackin proposed allowing the five sports explaining it would make it easier for the city to play in a “bubble” so schools can limit travel and the number of other schools they play against if they compete now. The Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference has created six bubbles and Chicopee Comprehensive and Chicopee High schools would play against each other as well as high schools in Hampden County including East Longmeadow, Longmeadow and Ludlow.

The organizations set a variety of different rules to try to prevent students from spreading the virus. For example, in soccer there will be no heading the ball and no corner kicks. For golf, cross-country and gymnastics students will have to wear masks when they gather at the beginning of the event but can take them off when they competing and are at a distance from other people, Mackin said.

If an athlete falls ill with COVID-19 there is also a system in place to trace and contact other students and coaches who came in contact with the player, he said.

Mackin said he worked with the city’s Health Director Lisa Sanders to decide if the schools should go forward with fall sports. She endorsed the plan since Chicopee is considered in a lower risk category having fewer than four average daily cases per 100,000 residents for the past two weeks and continues to see fewer cases.

Calling participants scholar-athletes, Mackin argued that sports are a valuable part of students’ education because they learn teamwork and build relationships with teammates and their coaches. They also can be a motivator for students who struggle with classwork.

But the committee struggled with the higher-risk sports.

Member Mary-Elizabeth Pniak-Costello said she was concerned especially since Pope Francis Catholic High School temporarily put all classes on remote learning on Monday after three students who played club sports together tested positive for COVID-19.

After the Committee voted against allowing girls volleyball in a divided vote, member Susan Lopes asked for the decision to be reconsidered saying it is a shame to say no to just one team. “I think that would do a disservice to our female volleyball players.”

After more debate, two members changed their votes allowing the sport this fall. Mackin said players will be wearing masks, both teams will be banned from going within three feet of the net and that area will be marked off as a COVID-19 zone. The ball will also be sanitized between plays and spectators will be banned.

Member Sandra Peret said she felt comfortable approving soccer because players are outdoors but was uneasy about volleyball since it is played inside. Mackin said some practices at least can be held outside.

“I see a little hypocrisy here, I mean we have gymnastics indoors,” Member James Tanhauser said. “We have kids going to school every day indoors. We trust the masks then, we trust the social distancing guidelines then, why for girls’ volleyball we don’t trust it.”

Chicopee School Committee adopted a phase-in plan that started the school year only with students who are deemed high risk because they are homeless, learning English or have disabilities attending class in person. Students in the vocational program also are in school two days a week. Currently, about 8% of students who opted to learn in-person are in school and the next phase with kindergarteners, first-graders, sixth-graders and ninth-graders is expected to start in three weeks.

The committee also voted to allow students in high-risk sports of football, basketball and cheerleading to hold practices to improve their fitness and skills as long as there is no close contact.

Related Content: