Gov. Tom Wolf has changed his stance and will allow fans at Pennsylvania high school sporting events this fall.
Just not many of them.
The governor’s COVID-19 guidance for sports was updated Wednesday to allow spectators at games, including those at K-12 schools. But fans, players, coaches, officials and game workers will all count toward the state gathering limits of 250 (outdoors) and 25 (indoors).
The new guidelines from Wolf omit these original sentences: “Sports-related activities at the PK-12 level are limited to student athletes, coaches, officials and staff only. ... Visitors and spectators are prohibited from attending in-person sports-related activities.”
In July, Wolf and Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine issued orders for sports that did not allow spectators at school sporting events and recommended that school and recreational sports be postponed until Jan. 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new guidelines now read, “spectators may attend sporting events, but count towards the statewide large gathering limitations.” They also read that spectators “must follow the Universal Face Covering Order and social distancing guidance when arriving, attending and departing the event.”
It will be up to each individual school to figure out how many fans will be allowed at games. Some might allow a few tickets to players’ families. Before Wednesday, some schools were going to allow a limited amount of band members and cheerleaders to games.
Another development to the spectator saga, however, came Wednesday afternoon when the state House of Representatives passed a bill, 155-47, that would give individual schools the power to decide if — and how many — spectators would be allowed at games. State Rep. Mike Reese, R-Westmoreland/Somerset, sponsored the bill and said the bill aims to give Pennsylvania schools the opportunity to have more than 250 fans outside.
“All we ask is the schools follow the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines so people are safe,” Reese said. “Those are arbitrary numbers, 250 outside and 25 inside. It’s nice to see the governor say some spectators can come, but the problem is he’s not understanding the realities of these events and how you can still properly social distance and be careful while still watching your family members play.”
Reese said the state Senate will vote on the bill next week, and he’s confident about the Senate’s vote. If it passes it by a two-thirds majority, Wolf could still veto the bill, but the House and Senate would then have the power to override the veto.
“I pray to get this done next week and on the governor’s desk Thursday or Friday,” Reese said. “Then we’ll see what happens.
“If this becomes law, it would preempt the governor’s order for gatherings.”
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association voted a few weeks ago to conduct all fall high school sports as scheduled despite COVID-19 concerns. But the PIAA said spectators would not be allowed at games in accordance with the initial order by Wolf.
“Neither the PIAA board (of directors) nor a local school board have the authority to set aside an order,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said before the governor’s guidance was updated. “If the information were guidance, a school could make the determination to accept, or forego the guidance.”
Lombardi said the PIAA sent a letter to the governor’s office Friday requesting that the spectator ban be relaxed, and he first found out from a school administrator about Wolf’s new guideline Tuesday. Lombardi said he then received an email from the governor’s office.
Lombardi said the PIAA is pleased with the changes, but he was emphatic the indoor gathering limit of 25 people needs to be changed to accommodate girls volleyball and water polo (the WPIAL does not sponsor water polo).
“We don’t want to be greedy, but by the same token, we need to address the unfairness of girls volleyball,” Lombardi said.
Girls volleyball uses 12 players on the court (six from each team). Throw in coaches, officials, a scoreboard operator and a trainer and athletic director, and the limit of 25 is reached rather quickly.
“We can’t have kids standing in the gym hallway waiting to be substitutes. That’s not right,” Lombardi said. “Let’s work together and get the minimum standard that’s doable. We still would like to recommend 25% of a facility’s capacity. That’s a consistent number for other formats that the state uses, like restaurant capacity.
“We were told originally that the state wanted to have a consistent policy. So then let’s use a consistent policy of 25% capacity and use it for a gym.”
Reese said: “I went to (non-school) softball tournament after tournament this summer with hundreds of ladies playing and many adults watching. I think adults can be responsible and I think sometimes in government we forget those are the people we work for, and not the other way around.
“I can’t imagine the situation where I wouldn’t be able to watch my child participate in a sport. As a dad of athletes, are you really going to tell me I can’t watch my son play football, or my daughter play softball?”
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: September 2, 2020, 7:13 p.m.
Updated: September 2, 2020, 10:49 p.m.
