REGION — At their March 8 meeting, school board members unanimously approved allowing sports to be offered at Telstar this spring.
Currently, baseball and softball are the two sports expected to be offered, with the status of track unknown. Superintendent Dave Murphy said there are concerns surrounding track, given the number of people that would be at a meet, but would not rule out the chance of having that as an option, too.
Telstar Principal Mark Kenney said the Maine Principals Association has not made any official recommendations on how the spring sports season will proceed, but that the MPA planned to meet sometime this week to discuss protocols.
“The goal is to hopefully have spring sports,” Telstar Principal Mark Kenney said. “It would be nice to bring a little sense of normalcy to the end of the school year.”
Kenney said the school has been informed that pitchers and catchers can start practicing on Monday, March 22.
The goal is to have sports available for both middle and high schoolers, according to Kenney.
Board member Maggie Davis asked if School Nurse Chris Cole was in support of a spring athletic season. Cole said she is in favor of having of offering sports and feels its important for students to get out and be active.
Board member Sarah DeCato asked if any discussion had occurred on how the school plans to limit the number of spectators at games.
Cole said no official guidelines regarding crowd control had been released because schools are waiting to see what the Maine Center for Disease Control and Maine Department of Education are going to come up with for guidelines.
Kenney said the grounds crew will help paint off sections of field where spectators can go and be socially distanced and that all spectators will have to be masked. Kenney also said someone from school will police the crowd to make sure everyone is following the rules.
The MDOE currently has Oxford County classified as green, meaning sports are a go as long as the county remains in a green classification.
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