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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A Grip on Sports: The WIAA’s guidelines for high school sports to return makes it clear numbers must improve before athletics begin again

Gonzaga Prep's Ryan McKenna (11) runs the ball for a touchdown against Hanford during a high school football game on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019, at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, Wash. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the near-future of high school sports in the Inland Northwest? Yesterday’s guidelines, released by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association took us from one camp to the other in about 400 words.

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• What is the most iconic of sounds one hears at an athletic event? A basketball game, say? More than likely you answered that question by immediately thinking of a whistle. At least that’s what I did. But how does one officiate a game without blowing into that innocuous plastic device? We may find out – and soon.

Part of the WIAA’s guidelines for a return to competition in these coronavirus times is that coaches, contest personnel and officials must wear cloth face coverings at all times. Which means whistles – and the airborne particulates associated with them – are out. Air horns, maybe, are in.

For high school sports to return in the fall (and through whenever a vaccine, herd immunity or effective therapeutic treatment is developed), they will have to include safety measures that will require workarounds, sacrifices and diligence to succeed.

But even that may not be enough. Not unless the general public changes its attitude.

All of the WIAA’s guidelines are tied to the State’s guidelines. Competition in low-level risk sports, or sports in which there is little contact, limiting the chance of COVID-19’s spread, can start if a county is under the Phase 3 guidelines. In the fall, cross country would land in this category.

Medium-risk sports, such as volleyball and soccer in fall, can’t begin until the county reaches Phase 4. Basketball, baseball, softball and gymnastics all fall in this category.

High-risk sports, such as football and wrestling, are basically on hold for now, as the WIAA tries to figure out how to safely manage interactions of such an intimate nature in the pandemic age.

By tying high school athletics to the Governor’s statewide phases, which are instituted county-by-county, the WIAA knew it was opening a hornet’s nest. The new-look Greater Spokane League, for example, will include schools from Whitman (Pullman) and Asotin (Clarkston) counties. While Spokane has stalled in Phase 2, those two counties have moved into Phase 3 under the Safe Start rules. Similar cross-county pollination occurs in leagues from the Northeast A to the B ranks.

It could make scheduling a nightmare for everyone. And that’s not even bringing in the logistics of an outbreak somewhere or schools closing for an extended time or any of a many issues that could crop up.

The simplest fix is to get the spread of the virus under control everywhere. Health district experts, some of whom have been studying such things for decades, offer practical guidance in that matter. Follow the guidelines, limit gatherings, wear masks in public, stay socially distant and only travel when necessary. But even such a simple and easy-to-follow structure seems too hard for some to understand.

There is ample evidence some people took Phase 2 as a license to believe the pandemic has passed (locally and nationally). An argument over face coverings developed. Workplaces reopened. Gatherings increased. And the numbers of infected people and hospitalizations are once again rising. It’s happening all over. Some states, like Arizona, are dangerously close to entering an infection phase that could rival what happened in New York. And that doesn’t bode well for sports, from the professional ranks to youth sports. Heck, women’s professional soccer hasn’t even started yet and one team has had to head to the bench because its players wanted to socialize. And these are people paid to play. How does one expect college and high school athletes to avoid temptation, to stay out of harms way?

If the trends hold, and unless there is a socially responsible reckoning of some sort they will, there won’t be a high school football season in Washington this year. And more than likely other sports would be sidelined as well. With the way the numbers are going in Idaho, that state could find itself in the same leaky rowboat.

Remember how hard it was to teach your child limits? That eating a scoop of ice cream was tasty and fun, but three scoops just before bed would lead to a messy night? It was a hard, but necessary, lesson to teach. And learn. It’s time to relearn it in this context.

We spent a couple of hard months earning the right to enjoy a scoop of ice cream again. And too many folks are gorging. The mess is already tough to clean up and has a chance to get so bad every little treat will be off limits soon.

Practice a little self control. Think of others. Be part of the solution. And maybe, just maybe, we can have some semblance of high school sports – and other levels – in the future.

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WSU: Here’s another sports-related reason to interact with others safely. The Cougar basketball team has a chance to be really good this season. Every Washington State fan would appreciate watching that, right? Theo Lawson has examined all the evidence and finds Kyle Smith guilty. Guilty of recruiting well.  … Around the Pac-12 and college sports, unlike a lot of schools whose athletes are back for voluntary workouts, Oregon State has been able to dodge positive tests thus far. … Colorado is one of those schools that are dealing with positives. … Utah needs to pick a starting quarterback. … A former USC offensive lineman, Max Tuerk, went on a Father’s Day weekend hike with his family. An accident happened. He didn’t survive. … Colorado’s basketball season taught one player a lot of things.

Preps: Of course Dave Nichols has a story on the WIAA’s fall sports guidelines. I linked it above but do it again here in case you missed it. … There are also stories from the Times and News Tribune. … Legion baseball is being played in Idaho for now. Ryan Collingwood has a story which also covers summer baseball on this side of the border and elsewhere.

Chiefs: Larry Weir is back at it, talking with play-by-play folks. Today we pass along his Press Box podcast that features Mike Boyle.

Mariners: In the game of chicken, usually someone veers away at the last minute. Wonder if that will happen with baseball. Or has already happened.

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• You know, I’m all for moving forward. In everything. I’m also all for following guidelines set up to help us do that safely. Seems pretty simple. Heck, my whole life I’ve never felt put out having to wear a shirt and shoes in a restaurant. Made sense, even for a guy like me who in his 60s still likes going barefoot. So it doesn’t seem all that much to ask to wear a mask in public for a while. If it works, we’re all better off. If it doesn’t work, all that’s happened is you’ve been deprived the chance to see my lovely smile. Until later …