Waterville High School students who signed up for basketball and volleyball can take part in improving their skills at their sport.
After a three-hour Waterville Central School Board of Education meeting last week - with the bulk of the time spent discussing the winter athletic options - Board members went with in-house practices that will be low-key. Students who signed up for girls and boys basketball and volleyball will practice in small groups with minimal physical contact and at this point, no scrimmages with their teammates.
The livestreamed meeting on Facebook, watched by up to 110 people, brought on 125 comments made by watchers during the meeting. Many were by parents of athletes upset with the decision not to play games this winter vs. other schools.
Board members had three choices: approve the low-risk skills and drills, approve a high-risk skills and drills that resemble more of a pre-Covid practice, or allow students to compete against other schools in winter sports.
Their discussion had started the week before during a special meeting with sports as the only topic. At that meeting WCS Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Spring and Athletic Director Bob Gray outlined a plan to submit to Oneida County for permission to play games.
Since then, Spring said last week, the county added criteria to what was required. This included getting approval from the district’s medical director and having coaches tested for coronavirus through a kit requiring a few days to determine and not by a rapid test.
Also, any student who had Covid-19 in the past three months needed medical clearance to begin. Only those High School students who signed up to play on the teams are eligible to take part in the skills and drills.
The Board appointed Larry Stockwell, Coby Maxam, Shannon Ruane…