Football? Yes.
Cheerleading? Yes.
Dance teams? Nope.
Marching bands … another no?
Those were the details concerning the restrictions announced Monday by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission BEFORE W.Va. Governor Jim Justice announced this afternoon a change in course.
“As a coach and someone who is in our schools all the time, I appreciate how much our extracurricular activities, including our marching bands, mean to our students, parents, and communities.
“Yesterday, the WVSSAC announced that our marching bands would not be able to perform at extracurricular activities this fall. This decision was made without my input.
“Today, I directed our medical experts to work with the WVSSAC and the Department of Education, and go back to the drawing board to find a safe way for our marching bands to do what they love to do: perform.
“I am now proud to announce that the WVSSAC and our medical experts have developed new guidelines for our marching bands to be able to perform on our football fields this fall.
“Our medical experts evaluated guidelines from the National Federation of High School Sports, and the West Virginia Bandmasters Association and put a plan together that keeps our band members socially distanced and as safe as possible, while allowing them to perform in the stadium on game days and allowing their families to watch their performances.
“The WVSSAC will release the new marching band guidelines this afternoon.”
An Expected Change
Dr. Kim Miller, superintendent of Ohio County Schools, expected the policy to change even before Gov. Justice’s announcement.
“I am confident that the guidelines will change multiple times before the beginning of the school year,” she said Tuesday morning. “I know a lot of parents are very upset about this, but I hope they understand that we are going to do everything we can.
“Of course, we value our performing arts and that is why we’re going to do everything we can to get this changed to a way that is safe for everyone,” she said. “It is absolutely necessary that these students get to participate in these extracurricular activities while also managing their classes because it teaches them how to handle both at the same time.”
During the summer months, Ohio County Schools operated conditioning and practice sessions for teams and other extracurricular activities, and while a few positive COVID-19 tests were recorded, Miller was impressed with the diligence and hard work contributed by all involved.
“We value very much all of the hard work that our teachers, administrators, all of our coaches and our directors of our extracurricular activities have put in this summer so that everything can move forward in a safe way,” Miller said. “There have been so many changes that have taken place that it has been difficult to concentrate on just one plan.
“That is why I am sure more changes will be coming, especially since we have a couple of weeks still before school actually begins,” the superintendent said. “Our folks have adapted to every change that has been ordered, and they have done that successfully because they want our students to have these types of experiences on top of their curriculum.”
Fear Over Logic?
Sam Lewis is the president of the Wheeling Park High Band Boosters and soon after the banning of marching bands was announced by the WVSSAC, he took to social media to express his frustrations with the decision.
Now that the reversal has been announced, Lewis hopes it remains in place.
“If it sticks, I will be ecstatic,” he said this afternoon. “It’s the right call because the first decision was based on fear. On one hand, the governor is using the color-coded map to determine class schedules and activities. Right now, Ohio County is a green county, so that would mean that our kids should go to school four or five days a week in person.
“So, on one hand, they are telling us that because we are a green county should be in session those four or five days, but then they turn around and tell us that we cannot have 90 kids who are, by nature, are already social distanced outside with face coverings on,” he continued. “To me, that makes zero sense. And, on top of that, our band director already has purchased bell covers for the instruments to catch any fluid that comes out. The ones that have been purchased exceed the recommendations that have been made.”
Lewis now is in his third year as the president of the band boosters, and while he has a daughter is who a member of the Pride of Ohio County, the Wheeling resident also has two sons on the high school football team.
“That means I am a parent in both areas of this thing,” Lewis said. “That is why so much of this just doesn’t make sense to me.”
“With all of the precautions that are already in place, to me, the risk is minimal,” Lewis insisted. “I truly am glad they changed their minds and have put out new guidelines, but I do hope that logic and commonsense stick and this stays in place.”
