The Bristol Township School Board agreed Tuesday to not allow schools to take part in the Suburban One League (SOL) fall sports schedule.
The school board “made the difficult decision” amid the pandemic and safety concerns, according to Superintendent Dr. Melanie Gehrens.
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During the pandemic, there has been great debate about whether high school should run their fall sports programs.
Last week, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) gave the green light for schools to continue fall sports across the state if they wanted to. The decision followed a “strong recommendation” from Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration that school sports wait until 2021, but left the final decision to school districts.
In a statement earlier this week, Bucks County Health Department Director Dr. David Damsker said he felt districts could make sports work.
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“Given the improving COVID situation in Bucks County, the PIAA’s recent determination to allow athletics on a local basis makes for a good fit here,” Damsker said. “All of our districts have worked extremely hard to make a safe environment for their athletes, and we fully support any decision for the continued pursuit of student athletics.”
Below is Gehrens’ letter to the public:
Dear Bristol Township School District Community,
On August 21, the PIAA Board of Directors made the decision that each school district must decide what is best for their district regarding fall athletics. Weighing the importance of the physical and mental well-being of our student athletes against the health and safety of the Bristol Township community at large is a challenging task. While BTSD wishes circumstances were different and COVID-19 cases were more stable, they are not. Therefore, the School Board, on August 25, 2020, made the difficult decision to not approve the Suburban One League (SOL) fall sports schedule.
This means that Bristol Township schools will not be participating in fall sports at this time, but we are hopeful that PIAA will follow through on its stated commitment to provide a season for all athletes by presenting us with an opportunity to compete later in the school year. Until further notice, athletics, band, and cheerleading activities at Bristol Township schools are suspended. The athletic department will be working with coaches and directors to implement a plan to continue voluntary off-season workouts after the start of the academic year.
We are dedicated to keeping our students, coaches, directors, staff members and their families safe. We also consider returning students to a safe, in-person learning environment to be our primary responsibility to the community. A major part of that responsibility involves mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Congregate settings where people are in close contact with one another, such as in athletic competition, will facilitate the spread of the virus, and could hinder or delay our efforts to open our schools for in-person learning.
Thank you for understanding as we do what is right to keep our community safe.
Sincerely,
Dr. Melanie Gehrens
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