The Prescott School District Board of Education gave the go-ahead for winter sports to happen at its meeting last Wednesday night. Athletes can participate in Middle Border Conference activities, and Prescott Community Recreation activities can be held. Masks are required, and athletics can still go on if schools are in a virtual environment.

Attendance will be restricted to two parents only and no visiting fans.

Activities Director Matt Smith led about an hourlong discussion on the topic at the board meeting, and he stressed that safety of participants will be the number one priority.

High school girls basketball started practice last week, and is already slated for its first competition this week. Middle school boys basketball has been underway, as has dance since fall. High school boys hoops and wrestling started this week. Forensics and National History League will be held virtually this year, and dance competitions will be virtual also, with regional and state competitions being moved back a month in the spring.

The measure calls for the school to play under Middle Border and WIAA guidelines and follow directives of Pierce County Public Health.

Fall sports seasons that wrapped up were considered a success. Prescott volleyball was paused for a week early in the season because of COVID-19-related reasons, and varsity football didn’t play its last week because of problems with the opposing school and quarantine cases at PSD.

“I do understand the extra-curriculars right now are an interesting topic, and trying to navigate the waters we’re in right now,” said Smith. “I do truly feel we can do this, put on winter seasons here. We can do it in a safe manner.”

Smith said 120 students – a quarter of the student body – is involved in winter high school extra-curriculars.

“I hear from the public, our stakeholders, from both extremes, from how can we not think of having athletics to what are we thinking having athletics?” Smtih told the board. “I honestly feel we can do this in a safe manner. We have the people in place and the correct approaches. Our staff will do everything the can do to be safe. If we didn’t’ have those things in place, either the personnel or the approaches, I’d be honest and tell you that.”

He said if there are problems during the year, the pause button will be pushed.

“If we do have situations that arise, I’ll be direct,” he said. “We won’t put ourselves in situations where we put ourselves in danger.”

Basketball games will be limited to 20 this season with generally only foes from the Middle Border. There will generally be just two games a week. Wrestling will be limited to Middle Border dual meets only – no tournaments. Matches likely will be held once a week only and on Thursdays, Smith said.

However, the WIAA is allowing athletes to participate in two independent tournaments during the season if they are held.

“If an outside group did happen to put on a tournament and rent a venue, our athletes could go compete in two of those,” said Smith.

Smith said the approach Public Health is taken is to not “halt or stop them occurring right now as long as proper approaches are taken and there isn’t an outbreak where they have to step in.”

Board member Tanya Holub said athletics can be allowed only if it doesn’t hinder school.

“One of the things that’s really important for me with all of this is that school is my priority, having kids in school,” she said. “If at any point, we have athletics get in the way of having kids be in school, that’s a trigger that it can’t continue.”

Matzek said it’s possible to “decouple” athletics and inperson school, as some districts aren’t allowing extra-curriculars if learning is virtual.

“We can do both. We can do athletics and keep the doors open,” he said. “We owe it to our students who participate in athletics, a quarter of the kids participate in athletics, that’s a big chunk…What I would say from a board level, rather than getting into the weeds of what we want to enforce, keep it at a high level from the board perspective and come forward with a motion to move forward with sports and put it back on the activities director and superintendent to come up with how that looks.”

Two motions were approved unanimously: to allow athletics with a 100 percent facemask policy in effect for Prescott athletes and to allow athletes to continue even if the instructional model is virtual.