By: Clare Gillis 

With all of the uncertainty that has come with Covid-19, many students were concerned about the status of winter sports. Being many seniors’ last winter sports season, there was a lot of pressure on the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) to (safely) ensure a winter athletic season. While the schedule for fall sports faced many changes, students were able to participate in a modified season, playing against a limited number of teams from nearby towns while following all CDC guidelines except for during gameplay. With the exception of football, fall sports were a success with little complications considering the nature of the situation. However, following the cancellation of the alternate football season proposed to take place March 19th-April 28th, it was more important than ever for students to be able to experience winter sports. Connecticut having been one of the first states to fully cancel a rescheduled football season, players all across the state were extremely disappointed to hear the news. Currently, the CIAC is still vowing to have a full spring sports season, and has officially laid out the plan for winter sports.

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On November 17th the CIAC announced that they were going to be postponing winter sports until January 19th which was met with concern from students. In the months leading up to January no further announcements were made, and even the week before the scheduled start date no students had knowledge of the status of the season. Finally, following the cancellation of the football season during a meeting on January 14th, the CIAC approved the final winter sports plan. The plan stated that all sports were going to have a season, with the only major changes being made to the indoor track season. It was determined that the meets for indoor track would not be able to be held safely, and the winter season would consist of only practices meant to help prepare the athletes for more of an extended outdoor season. The coaches of indoor track at Conard are also hoping to help achieve some sense of normalcy by organizing possible joint practices with Hall--if approved--and “mini meets” which would function as small competitions among teammates. The sports seasons started on January 19th consisting of basketball, ice hockey, gymnastics, and boys swimming. Competition is scheduled to begin on February 8th, and with daily COVID forms being completed by athletes, as well as proper CDC guidelines being followed, students are looking forward to a winter sports season with a few minor changes.