by Trevor Annicharico
Though the New York State Public High School Athletic Association considered swimming a low risk sport, the lack of pool facilities throughout Section 1 has delayed the official start of the season.
There is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas, or water play areas. Proper operation and maintenance (including disinfection with chlorine and bromine) of these facilities should inactivate the virus in the water, add to that the social distancing maintained by the lanes when they are in the pool, and swimming is mainly an individual sport.
Swimming is not totally out of the question, but many teams still need access to a pool. Officials believe it would be unfair if two of the schools get a pool and the rest don’t, and competitions would be nearly impossible.
Some schools, like Irvington, have shared athletes in the past. Irvingon had a joint swim team with Hastings Sleepy Hollow, and Edgemont, but given the current situation, combined teams would be a difficult proposition.
Girls swimming coach Stephanie Schilling said, “Unfortunately at this time there is a lack of availability for girls swimming and diving. The other SHEDI coaches and I have two priorities: one, keep the kids safe and two, allow for as many athletes to participate as possible. We are disappointed that there is no State meet this year, but in the bigger picture, first and foremost, we want to keep everyone safe. These decisions are out of the coaches hands and we are awaiting the final decision from the Executive Committee.”
