Parents of Athletes,
I want to make sure that everyone knows how we are handling attendance at athletic events. We came up with these guidelines at a Four Rivers Conference meeting and we will follow these same guidelines for our non-conference home games. For away non-conference games, we will follow the guidelines put in place by that school. Please respect any rules that opposing schools have mandated.
This is what we currently have in place for our fall sports. This could change once the winter sports season begins.
Recommendations
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Masks are highly recommended for all athletes while they are not actively involved in a strenuous physical activity.
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Spectators are asked to sit in family/household clusters and keep 6 feet distance from any other groups.
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The wearing of masks by spectators is highly recommended, especially in times when physical distancing of 6 feet is not possible.
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Spectators are asked not to attend events if they they have any of the following
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New or worsening cough
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New or worsening sore throat
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New or worsening loss of taste and or smell
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Shortness of breath/trouble breathing
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Vomiting or diarrhea
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Fever greater than 100.4 degrees
Guidelines
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Volleyball
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Gym capacity will be limited to 50%*
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Visitor seating will be limited to 75 vouchers** to be distributed to players prior to games by the visiting coach
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Remainder of seating up to 50% capacity will be reserved for the home fans
*Capacity of each venue is to be determined by each local school district and city fire codes
**Vouchers reserve your ability to purchase a ticket to enter the event.
At any time these recommendations may change as needed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The schools of the Four Rivers Conference ask that you respect these guidelines and recommendations which we feel will provide our student athletes with the safest competition environment possible. Our goal is to protect the structure of our season and allow our athletes the best opportunity to reach the natural conclusion to the fall sports season.
Spectators (age 6 years and older) will only be allowed to attend games in our gym if they have a voucher. Vouchers are distributed to the players who then will distribute to spectators. We have signed an agreement with Pixellot which will livestream our games played in the gym. We do not have a date yet as to when that installation will take place.
In the event that an athlete tests positive for Covid-19, we will follow MSHSAA’s (Missouri State High School Activities Association) Covid-19 return to play policy. In short, the policy states that after an athlete tests positive, he/she will quarantine for 14 days. After the 14 days of quarantine and the athlete is symptom free, he/she will go through a minimum of 6 practice days to get back to a competition level of endurance. The full policy is on MSHSAA’s website.
Please understand that if a parent tests positive, his/her child is quarantined and misses at least 2 weeks of his/her season. This is why we ask that fans sit with their family groups and wear masks. We understand that this is not how you prefer to watch your child’s games, but it lessens the chance that you will have to experience the emotions associated with quarantining your child. Our athletes deserve the best chance we can provide to experience athletics during their short time at New Haven High and Middle Schools.
On a much lighter note, the New Haven Athletic Boosters is doing some absolutely wonderful things for our athletes! This summer they purchased new gymnasium chairs for us and they are also buying us a new score table for the gym. They put on a senior night each year for our seniors and reward them with gifts of appreciation. I would encourage you to join this organization that does so much for your children. They meet the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. If you can’t make the meetings, that is okay! They would appreciate any help that you could give them in their fundraisers. They are operating the concession stand at this year’s softball games and have already put out a request for help. They will do the annual Shamrock Card fundraiser in September. Please encourage your high school child to sell cards. They will also be having an online auction soon. Please reach out to me if you know that you can help with any of these worthwhile events.
I will be providing updates about cancellations, rescheduled events, and other information via Twitter. Follow New Haven Athletics so you don’t miss out on anything.
The last few months have been filled with many emotions. Cancelling an entire sports season was heartbreaking. Being a part of New Haven’s first outdoor graduation was exhilarating. Having to cancel our New Haven camps was frustrating. Seeing the smiles on the faces of the athletes on the first day of fall practices was a special kind of experience. I’m not naive enough to think we won’t have some more ups and downs throughout the school year. I’m confident though, that whatever we have to face, we will do it with class.
If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email at [email protected] or call me at school at 573-237-2629 ext. 2508.
Thanks for all of your help and support. It’s a great day to be a SHAMROCK!
Mrs. Jaime Hoener
New Haven Athletic Director