by Dani Heller
As the world continues to open in a somewhat normal capacity, a change of varsity seasons has come with a modification in the spectator policy at sports games. During the fall season, all sports, indoors and outdoors, allowed all students to join the crowd to cheer on their peers. Now, winter sports are about to begin operating with a limited and strict student section policy.
Under the new guidelines all team members are permitted to bring two guests, who will need to sign in as they enter the gym. These guests will be required to remain six feet apart and wear masks while seated in the gym.
These strict new rules came as a shock to the Irvington community. As vaccines are readily available for all people as young as age five, this rule seems out of line. Additionally, only a three feet separation is enforced in classes, so why would this distance double while sitting in the gym?
In an email from the Athletic Director, he stated that, “Additional walk-in fans may be allowed but will depend on team roster size and current spectator count.” This does not seem very promising and has left student-athletes with a negative expectation regarding the size of their student sections at their upcoming games.
Overall, there seems to be no upside to these new and intense rules. If students are not comfortable sitting in the main student section, they can easily remove themselves from the general crowd and sit on the outskirts or just not attend the game at all. However, shouldn’t people have the ability to decide what they do based on their level of comfort? Afterall, it is a completely optional event to take part in. Those who want to attend should not have to scramble to find an available ticket and then sit far from their peers for the entire game.
Liam Sawian, a senior on the Varsity Boys Basketball team had a similar reaction to most student-athletes. “I was really looking forward to playing for a crowd. So, I have to say it is a bit of a mood killer but we will adapt as long as we get to play,” he stated.
