Fall sports at both Danville High School and North Ridge Middle School are moving forward, even though the regular school day will be entirely online.
School board members accepted proposals for both schools with 6-1 votes, with Pastor Thomas Miller the lone dissension. DHS will have fall sports in cross-country, golf, girls’ tennis and girls’ swimming. North Ridge Middle School sports will consist of baseball, softball and cross-country.
Danville High School Athletic Director Mark Bacys said he modeled the fall sports plan after the IHSA’s rules, but he says it is more stringent.
“We’re overly cautious in a lot of the areas where the IHSA was kind of vague in general, and I feel confident that we can execute these plans safely,” he explained. “Our fall sports numbers are low, and then for the actual competitions, they’re manageable.”
Bacys said teams will take school buses to away games with social distancing. The size of an indoor team will be kept under 20 players to maintain the state’s 50-person capacity limit. He says fans will mostly be kept out.
“We’re not going to have any fans at indoor activities,” he said. “At outdoor activities, fans will be allowed if they are socially distanced and wearing masks.”
The sports season at North Ridge Middle School will look similar. Incoming Athletic Director Drew O’Connell said there would be a maximum of 12-15 athletes on a team. Parents will be permitted to drive their children to and from games, with a 24-hour notice.
District officials are looking into video streaming options for games. Superintendent Alicia Geddis said she declined the popular NFHS Network because that site requires a subscription. Board Vice President Dr. Randal Ashton mentioned that games could simply be broadcasted on Facebook Live.
The board also approved show choir by a 5-2 vote for the school year after rejecting an earlier proposal last month.
Show Choir Director Jeff Thomas said material will be recorded and sent virtually to students for the first month of the school year. In-person practices will begin in October, with no more than eight people in a group at one time. Groups will be based on voice part. Each practice will last approximately 40 minutes.
Pastor Miller and Board President Bill Dobbles voted against allowing show choir to move forward, with Dobbles saying he believes show choir has the potential for much more physical contact than what is permitted under current guidelines.
