As a South Shore student or fan, we’re sure you’ve thought of this question: Will there be sporting events this year? As of right now, there will be middle and high school athletic events this year, although their seasons will be a little different from previous schedules and plans for the year.

Volleyball and cross country start dates were pushed back, but their seasons will end as previously scheduled. Games and meets are scheduled to start on October 1st. The high school basketball seasons were shortened, and the start date for spring sports was pushed back, creating a window for a six week “fall alternate season” for fall sports that were rescheduled. A speculative schedule is included at the end of the article.* At South Shore, the only fall sport that was moved to the alternate season is middle school girl’s basketball. The fall alternative season will not have a state tournament, which is why high school cross country and volleyball were not moved. These new changes were decided by the  Indianhead conference.  

Sadly, there are restrictions on spectators at sporting events at this time. For sports being played indoors, such as volleyball or basketball, each athlete will receive tickets for parents only.  As of right now, there will only be 100 people, including coaches, officials, athletes and fans allowed into the gym. Everyone in the building will be required to wear a mask, including athletes. Once the mask mandate lifts, the county and/or conference will decide whether to ask athletes, parents, and officials to wear masks for safety reasons. Non-family members or siblings of athletes will not be allowed to attend. Different schools in the conference may have stricter rules if they have less seating capacity in their gym or they may not allow fans at all. 

Outdoor events have a maximum capacity of 250 people, which includes coaches, athletes, and officials, to attend. Social distancing will be required to be maintained between spectators. Mask regulations will depend on the specific sport and regulations.

Although not all spectators will be able to attend, all indoor games will be livestreamed. We are in the process of installing a pixelation camera run by the company NFHS, as are the other schools in our conference. We are hoping it will be installed before October 1st for volleyball games, but we have no set date for the installation. If the camera can’t be installed before indoor games begin, games will be recorded and put on a Facebook live. Outdoor events will not be livestreamed due to the fact that more people are allowed to attend. 

We would love for community members to be able to attend and show support at sporting events this year but that may not be possible for a while. That being said, everything is susceptible to change. Athletic director Ryan Tiberg addresses the ever changing rules and regulations: “People are just going to have to be flexible, adaptable and understanding. Even though I gave these answers today, they may be completely different tomorrow.” Thank you to our community for being understanding and supportive. 

*2020-21 Sports Season Dates (All dates are subject to change.)