School districts all over Georgia have sprung into action after the Georgia High School Association announced athletic conditioning can commence June 8.
The GHSA Board of Trustees originally considered a June 1 start, but decided on June 8 to give districts the time needed to gather supplies so workouts can take place safely during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Gilmer Schools superintendent Dr. Shanna Downs, principals and athletic directors met last Thursday to ensure provisions are in place by the time athletes return to campuses.
“We had a meeting with our district and school leadership and discussed the return to sports and an Infectious Disease Prevention Plan, which was one of requirements by the GHSA,” said Gilmer High athletic director Matt Johnson. “We’re following their guidelines and talked about the specifics of how it will look at Gilmer High School. I think we’ve got a great plan. We had a good meeting and a lot of great minds came together.
“On order we have some supplies we need like spray bottles, disinfectants, sanitizers, gloves and masks. We went through all the guidelines with all the coaches yesterday (last Thursday).”
Conditioning groups are limited to 20 people and that includes both athletes and coaches. While the bulk of the GHSA’s guidelines were covered in last week’s Times-Courier, there was possibly some confusion among member schools as the GHSA released a statement clarifying which groups are allowed on campus and when.
Multiple sports may condition at the same time at different locations. However, only one group per sport may condition at a time.
At GHS, there are a total of 11 conditioning groups across four sports. As of last Friday, there are four football groups, two for boys wrestling, two for cheer and a group each for girls wrestling and boys and girls basketball.
Once an athlete is placed in a group, they cannot switch to another. Athletes are not permitted to cross train with different groups in multiple sports.
“Coaches are compiling rosters for each workout group this week,” Johnson said. “Those rosters will not change unless we need to put a new kid in there once they’ve gone through the (screening) process. So those groups will be the same every day.”
Athletes and coaches will have their temperatures taken prior to each conditioning session. Work out locations include weight rooms at GHS and the Larry Walker Education Center, Huff-Mosley Memorial Stadium, the GHS baseball field and band field (located in the back parking lot of GHS).
All weight lifting equipment will be “wiped down and sanitized” after each athlete completes a set, and this process will last the duration of the workout. Once a session is completed, weight rooms will undergo a “deep clean” where they will be fogged and disinfected by custodial crews.
Fulton County Schools opted to push conditioning back a week and will convene June 15. Johnson noted Gilmer did not need extra time to prepare.
“If we weren’t able to get the supplies we needed, then it would have been on the table, but it was all very doable,” he said. “We were able to get what we needed and already had most of it.”
As with many situations concerning the coronavirus, plans and procedures are subject to change as more information becomes available.
“We obviously don’t know what this is going to look like from one day to the next so we’re just trying to be proactive,” Johnson said. “We’ll revise this plan as needed. It’s very fluid.”