More Section VII schools make their fall sports decisions

PLATTSBURGH | Five Section VII schools said they would be moving forward with a fall interscholastic athletic program for low-risk sports this fall, while four school districts from the Mountain and Valley Athletic Conference announced they would be delayed until March 1. On Sept. 15, Section VII released a statement saying they would support member schools in whatever decision they made regarding the fall sports season, with more schools set to determine in the next few days how they will move forward. Opting in In a release sent out the evening of Sept. 16, AuSable Valley superintendent Paul Savage announced the Patriots will start soccer and cross country seasons Sept. 28. In making the announcement, Savage did ask people to be flexible and ready for anything. "This decision could change at a moment's notice," said Savage. "We need everyone to be flexible and ready for change daily and your support of helping to safely accomplish this initiative is immeasurable. Fortunately..., we believe we can provide this opportunity for our varsity soccer, cross country, and possibly girls' swimming and diving athletes, while ensuring the safety of all students, coaches, and spectators." Moriah officially announced sign-ups for girls soccer Sept. 16, as the school will move forward with their fall season as well as the merged cross country program with Boquet Valley. Saranac athletic director Brent Denis said the low-risk fall sports season for the Chiefs would begin Sept. 22. In Lake Placid, superintendent Roger Catania said the district is continuing to plan for the start of the soccer and cross country seasons Sept. 21. Saranac Lake voted at their Sept. 16 meeting to move forward with a fall season starting Sept. 28, with rosters limited to 19 athletes, only varsity participating in games and meets, and games to be scheduled for Wednesday and Saturdays. Those schools join Northeastern Clinton, Chazy, Willsboro, and Boquet Valley, who had announced their intention to play fall sports starting on or around Sept. 21. In a letter to the community, BVCS superintendent Josh Meyers said the decision is a chance to move forward. "We are at the stage where we need to try things," Meyer said. "We need to see what works and what doesn't. What can be improved upon and what needs to wait until we have a better understanding of COVID or better preventative solutions. I am sure,that like so many other things over the past several months, some of you will consider this to be unsafe, others will consider it appropriate, and other will think that we should have started sooner. I want to assure you that we are trying to provide opportunities for our students while keeping them healthy and safe. If at any point we lose confidence in the health or safety of any activity or event, it will stop." Opting out Four southern schools that play in the MVAC announced they will not be moving forward with a September start. Keene athletic director Matthew Mills said his district had decided to pause fall sports. "We plan on doing some things in-house, holding some skills clinics for our student-athletes," said Mills. "We are hopeful we will be able to set up something for fall sports in the spring for our students." Crown Point also decided to wait. "Our school board made the decision last evening to delay fall sports until the spring," said AD John Swinton. "We will reevaluate our winter sports at a later date. Hopefully, we'll be able to salvage each season, but until guidelines of the school day and athletics start to align more, it is a difficult task. We simply can not have two sets of rules for different people." The merged Indian Lake/Long Lake program announced they had decided to not participate this fall. "After several athletic meetings that we have attended over the past several weeks with athletic directors, superintendents, and Section VII representatives, we have made the difficult decision that Indian Lake/Long Lake will not participate in this year's fall interscholastic athletic season," said a joint statement from the two schools. "We recognize how disappointing this is for our students, families, and communities, but we feel this is the best decision to maintain the health and safety of our school districts at this time." Johnsburg superintendent Mike Markwica announced Sept. 15 the district would not be moving forward with a September start. "The decision was difficult, but safety for our athletes and our community at large had to be taken into consideration," said Markwica. "We join a list of schools that has become longer over the last several days in making this decision to wait. The board, as well as administration, realize sports are an essential part of a student's academic life, and the lessons learned on the field/court are at times as important as the ones discovered in the classroom. This is why we are considering playing all three sports seasons later in the year when the state comes out with more precise directions." Last year, Johnsburg added Minerva students to their athletic program in a merge. Still deciding Several schools are still in the decision-making process, as Wells had a scheduled board meeting for Sept. 16 with fall sports on the agenda. Northern Adirondack met Sept. 15 and was set to discuss the fall sports issue, and superintendent James Knight is expected to announce a decision in the coming days. Peru will meet in a special board meeting on Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. to discuss how they will move forward. The meeting will be streamed through the schools' Youtube page. Schroon Lake superintendent Stephen Gratto announced a special board meeting will take place on Sept. 17, 6 p.m., in the town pavilion near the tennis courts. Capacity will be limited to 50 people per state rules, and the only agenda items will be tied to the decision-making on fall sports. Ticonderoga will meet early next week in a special school board meeting to further discuss the fall season. At a board meeting Sept. 15, sports was a key topic as a motion to postpone fall sports was defeated while one to move forward with a September start date was tabled. Plattsburgh High said a decision would be coming at the end of the week or the beginning of next. Currently, Beekmantown announced a 21-day delay in any fall sports until at least Oct. 5. Sun Community News has not received responses from Seton Catholic or Newcomb on the status of their sports seasons.

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More Section VII schools make their fall sports decisions

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