by sdiamond » Fri Feb 12, 2021 4:37 pm
Schools in Santa Clara County received news that students must choose between high school and club sports, despite the ruling on Wednesday from the CIF to waive Bylaws 600-605, which restrict participation in an outside sport during the high school season. The bylaws concern playing the same sport, but they have been interpreted as applying to all sports because the rationale for the enforcement of the bylaw was tied to guidance from the California Department of Public Health with respect to students participating in just one cohort.
The California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) guidance for youth sports states athletes and cohorts should cohort by team, and refrain from participating with more than one team over the same season or time period. This provision is designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in youth sports. For the same reason, the County does not allow youth to participate in multiple cohorts at one time for extracurricular activities, regardless of whether those activities are athletic or non-athletic.
“This rule is designed to limit intermixing and reduce the spread of COVID-19 so that children can safely return to school. That is the County’s top priority for youth. Although CDPH has now decided that its provision is a recommendation, the County’s provision remains mandatory at this time. The County of Santa Clara recognizes the critical importance of sports for youth and families across our community and as conditions improve, the County will continue to evaluate the restrictions on youth programs and athletic activities and looks forward to relaxing those restrictions as the data warrants.”
“The fact that kids have to choose is unfortunate – and only in Santa Clara County,” Central Coast Section commissioner Dave Grissom told the Bay Area News Group. “We will have a loss of participation. Kids are going to have to make the choice. It is a concern.”
The language of the statement from Santa Clara County is stricter and less ambiguous than the initial decision surrounding Bylaws 600-605 because it not only does not make a distinction over what sport a student participates in, but forbids students to participate in multiple cohorts of any kind. In essence, this means that a student would not only need to choose between high school and club sports, but between sports and other extracurricular activities in general.