RSU 57 Winter Activities / Athletics Update

The Maine Principals Association has released it’s guidelines for winter athletics.   Based on these guidelines each school district in Maine is planning for a safe start to winter athletics.   Each individual sport guideline will be posted for your review.

Start Date

Practices are set to begin on December 7th pending our counties Covid designation.    Currently with York County in Yellow there are no in person meetings of students after school allowed.    If we stay in yellow we will not be starting winter sports on December 7th.    That said, we are preparing as though we will be Green on Dec 7th so we are prepared.

Practices / Activity Bus

It is important to remember we will not have activity busses running.  Athletes will not be allowed to wait after school for later practices and must go home then return for practice.   Students participating in winter athletics will need rides home after practices and games.  We will do what we can with practice schedules to accommodate as best as possible while ensuring we meet state guidelines for indoor meeting sizes.

Registration

At this time REVTRAK is open for sign ups.   There is no fee associated at this time and the fees will be evaluated based on how the seasons unfold.   Fees were not assessed this fall based on the limited season.   I encourage everyone interested in participating in a winter sport to register now so we can process your registrations and clear athletes for participation.

Viewing Games

The winter guidelines clearly state there will be no spectators at events.    The indoor gathering limit is 50, which will create challenges to hold the competitions with only the athletes and game officials in the building.  We cannot currently use volunteers at events here.  Games will be streamed and that information will be shared before the events.

Schedules

There are no schedules available at this time.   We are awaiting the league to produce and approve them.  They will be released once we have them.

Sport Specific Information

We will be offering the following sports at MHS this Winter

Competition Cheering-   There will be no sideline cheer for basketball this winter.  This is an MPA Recommendation.   Comp Cheering will practice after school and information on how competitions will be run is pending.

Wrestling- The MPA has postponed Wrestling until 2/22.  Wrestling is considered a high risk sport and the hope is that the delay will improve our chances of having a season.

Basketball-   Basketball will begin with our other sports on Dec assuming we are Green.   We are planning to practice later using both MMS and MHS gyms.   Or boys and girls will rotate between spaces.   This will allow for players to go home after school and have rides to and from practice.

Swimming- This year we will be swimming at the Sanford YMCA.  The pool time is 2-3pm and there will be RSU 57 transportation to and from the pool with a return time of approximately 3:45pm  There are restrictions for the numbers of swimmers allowed in the pool at one time.  We will be splitting our team into 2 groups with group A swimming on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and group B swimming Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.    That would switch weekly.   We are fortunate to have pool time and this model is what other schools are doing.   The Saturday time is likely to be 7am and there will be RSU 57 transportation provided from MHS.  We do not yet have a schedule or a clear model for how swim meets will be run.

Indoor Track-   The guidelines for Indoor Track do allow for training to begin on Dec 7th but there is no confirmation that there will be a facility to hold track meets so the season is in question at this time.   This being the case we will wait to begin indoor track and field practices until more information is available regarding our competitions.  Indoor track is likely to begin after January 1st unless the competition facility question is answered very soon.

Ice Hockey- Our Cooperative agreements for Boys Ice Hockey with Biddeford and Girls Ice Hockey with Gorham are approved.  Those interested in either should register ASAP.  Registrations must happen both with MHS and Biddeford (Boys) or Gorham (Girls) respectively.  Registrations are required at each school and both are free of charge.  Please reach out to me for information on the registration process at each school.

Alpine Ski- Our cooperative agreement with Gorham for Alpine Ski is also approved.  Similarly registrations must happen both at Gorham and at MHS and both are free of charge.

Masks-  The current guidelines state that masks will be worn at all times, both during practice and competition.   We will have disposable masks available for anyone who needs one but we ask athletes to have their own and to consider what they are most comfortable with for comfort etc.

Locker Rooms-   We are planning such that our need for the use of locker rooms will be minimal.  For practices happening later in the afternoon / evening we expect students to come dressed and not require use of the locker room.  We will use our school bathrooms and hallway water fountains as needed.   On game days locker room use will be allowed.   Teams practicing directly after school will be allowed locker room use in small groups to change before practice only and will not be allowed back in to the locker rooms once they leave.  The locker rooms will be disinfected after use.

Activities / Clubs-  We have a number of clubs approved to be meeting at this time.  While in Green status these group shave been allowed to meet in person following state guidelines.   While Yellow our approved clubs are meeting remotely.  Our current approved clubs are as follows:

Yearbook- Hattie Stiles

Peer Helpers-  Kerra Harmon

Instrumental Music- Dan Laciano

Vocal Music- Heather Guilfoyle

Math Team- Jen Blair

National Honor Society- Marianne Stephenson

Student Council- Sara Gallo

Drama- Catherine Leavitt

Ski Bus- Lori Pennell

Science Olympiad-  Lori Pennel, Katherine Carroll

Class of 2020-  Samantha Lang- Rodean, Sara Gallo

Class of 2021-  Katherine Carroll, Donna Kendall

Class of 2022-  Allison Hunter, Audree Roy

Class of 2023-  Thomas Bricke, Michael Donlon

Middle School- At this time we are reviewing the possibilities for middle school activities.  We will not start middle school activities before January 11th at the earliest.   We will keep you informed on the status of middle school athletics once we have more information.

Guidelines

Our month of fall athletics at MHS was successful in great part due to our diligence with state mandated guidelines and local protocols and the support of our coaches, athletes and families.  We believe we can safely hold our winter activities and be as successful by following those guidelines and local protocols closely with everyone’s support.  That said, no one person will ensure this all goes according to plan safely and all will have to be on board to support our protocols and follow the guidelines.  We will have the chance to play so let’s all do our part to make sure we do so safely and successfully!

Thank You

Brendan Scully

Activities Director RSU 57

brendanscully@rsu57.org

207-247-3141


Links for MPA Guidelines

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13v_yC8DIvQfv0mzGpTrLQJifFDA3jedL/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/d/17eKNS69csuHkrqptcl55yFzP1niyOiq-/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/d/18O_9S_yLQdQN9x0TX0Rk8-_uv7el9Z90/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/d/19fbM3mqQ6_fxzjcFz93kdiF4yMjTaWC9/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K21XfKvt0M0v5QDE9_TdT34La2NBNLE0/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RW44SsM17ZhRHu7uCtHxFK61KKci8bUo/view?usp=sharing, https://drive.google.com/file/...