High school sports will be underway in Newtown as of August 29, Athletic Director Matt Memoli told the Board of Education at its August 25 meeting. Competitions are expected to begin September 24.

Memoli told the school board that since July 6, high school athletes have been performing conditioning exercises in small groups with “stringent guidelines,” and the district now has the “go ahead” to begin tryouts and scheduling fall competitions for a September 24 start date.

“I must say it went extremely, extremely well,” Memoli said of the one-hour-a-day, three-days-a-week conditioning sessions. “...The way our coaches implemented it and the guidelines that were followed, really, in my eyes, everyone being outside was probably one of the safest and best spots for our kids to be.”

Conditioning will be complete August 28.

While he said the district plans to move ahead “as best we can” with the fall sports season, changes have been happening frequently. When saying the district will be allowed, per the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s (CIAC), to being tryouts and practices on August 29, Memoli noted the time, 8:59 pm on August 25, as a reference should things change.

“The majority of our programs are going to be outside,” said Memoli.

The CIAC guidelines have not changed since July and have been passed by Superintendent of Schools Dr Lorrie Rodrigue and Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert, according to Memoli.

The guidelines include allowing students 60 minutes total each day of conditioning and skill work; athletes will arrive wearing masks and will wear them when not participating in exercises; coaches will wear masks; athletes will be responsible for their own water; and coaches will be equipped with med kits, according to the meeting’s discussion.

“As of right now we plan to move forward, as best we can, I guess, with a fall sports season,” Memoli said.

With most students now registered for fall sports, Memoli said he tries to send two to three e-mails a week to parents “just to keep them in the loop.”

“We all understand that the most important thing right now is getting school back in session, but giving some of these kids an opportunity to... be with their teammates who are some of their best friends, be with their coaches, and just to get a chance to compete and have that outlet for them is something that I think is huge,” said Memoli.

While he hopes information regarding sports will not change much, he also said he is sure changes will happen and the district will keep parents and students informed as those come up.

Board of Education members took turns asking a range of questions. In response to some of those questions, Memoli explained teams are working individually to schedule practices, and some teams are meeting only two days a week. Some teams are working to keep students with cohorts they will see during the school day. Teams are also working to structure time around available rides for students.

Memoli explained visiting teams will arrive dressed ready to play, no locker rooms will be used by visiting teams, and no fans or family members will be allowed at the games. The Newtown High School Blue & Gold stadium has a camera for games to be livestreamed online, and Memoli said the district is working to get a camera for the high school’s main gymnasium and one for its pool.

“And we will follow all of the protocols from the CIAC in regard to competitions that we have,” said Memoli.

For transportation to competitions, Memoli said the CIAC left those decisions up to districts and bus companies. Social distancing would happen as best as possible on the buses, Memoli explained, and more logistics would be worked out before competitions begin.

When asked about football and volleyball, Memoli called them “the ever-changing two sports.” He said it is hard to speculate on both sports at this time, due to constant changes.

“It’s hard for me to even predict where those are going,” Memoli said of the two sports.

To Board of Education Vice Chair Dan Delia’s question of whether there is a plan should sports need to be canceled, Memoli said there are three plans.

“Plan A is that, if everything stays the way it is and we are able to continue in school, we continue with the interscholastic schedule and we compete against other schools,” said Memoli. “Plan B we would keep it to an in-house Newtown High School intermural program, where the kids practice and they compete against themselves. Plan C we go to distance coaching, a virtual coaching model, which we implemented in the spring... [it] would be the last case resort.”