Oakwood pauses winter sports because of coronavirus: ‘It is essential to take this action,’ Ramey says

Credit: FILE

Credit: FILE

Oakwood school officials have decided to pause all winter sports for high school and junior high programs because of issues related to the coronavirus.

On Sunday, the district announced all athletic practices, training and competitions for grades 7-12 would be paused effective immediately and through Dec. 18.

A release from the district cited “the current prevalence of sports-related quarantines in the district and an uptick of the spread of the virus within Montgomery County.” District leaders said focusing on keeping student-athletes in class through the end of the semester is necessary.

“Even with our successful and complete fall season, Oakwood Athletics has seen the number of winter student-athletes missing the opportunity to attend face-to-face instruction increase. It is important for those student-athletes to minimize the risk of not finishing the first semester in class.  We hope this pause provides our student-athletes with the opportunity to finish first semester strong and be ready to compete later this month,”  Athletic Director Laura Connor said.

“Making this decision has been difficult, as we want to provide as many positive experiences as possible for all of our students,” Oakwood Schools Superintendent Kyle Ramey said. “We believe in order to prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, trainers, their families and our competitors, it is essential to take this action at this time.

“Our hope is everyone involved in Oakwood Athletics will follow the established protocols to make sure we are all healthy when sports resume.”

Coaches will be allowed to communicate virtually with student-athletes, and players also can will be permitted to reach out to coaches as a resource, the district said.

Oakwood Athletics will continue to evaluate the situation in the coming weeks and communicate with families as more information becomes available, the statement concluded.

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