Whether or not the fall sports season makes it to finish remains to be seen, and winter sports are a big question mark due to the impact of the coronavirus, but the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has announced recommendations that, at this juncture, call for all sports considered lower and moderate risk to be played, and for small group conditioning and non-contact drills to continue for higher-risk sports.

Under the DPH’s current stance, most of the town’s and state’s high school organized sports have the go-ahead to be played as usual.

The DPH, on September 25, released comprehensive guidance and recommendations for organized sports, including youth and adult club and private league play. DPH had previously released guidance to scholastic athletic leagues in Connecticut concerning fall sports. The guidance is intended to help local health departments, municipalities and league organizers assess the risk of play, and will be revisited later in the fall or early winter as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, according to a DPH press release. This guidance is based on a risk assessment for COVID-19 conducted by the National Federation of High School Associations, a national organization governing high school athletics. The guidance includes a description of the risk categories for sports, breaks down the risks of different activity associated with those sports, and makes recommendations for each of those activities.

“The COVID-19 pandemic does not mean all organized sports should stop. In fact, DPH recognizes the importance of physical activity for the health and well-being of everyone during this stressful period,” Acting DPH Commissioner Deidre S. Gifford, MD, MPH, said in the release. “We encourage children and adults to engage in lower-risk physical activities as part of a strategy to stay healthy and cope with this pandemic. Unfortunately, some team sports present a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19 during practice or play, and we recommend that those be either modified or postponed. We want anyone playing organized sports in Connecticut to be aware of the risks for contracting COVID-19, so everyone can make informed decisions. Our overall goal is for people to have fun and compete, keep physically active and fit, and most importantly stay safe and healthy during this pandemic.”

The DPH release details which sports are considered higher-, moderate-, and lower-risk sports.

Those that fit in the higher risk category are “sports that involve close, sustained contact between participants, lack of significant protective barriers, and high probability that respiratory particles will be transmitted between participants,” according to DPH.

Higher-risk sports are wrestling, 11 vs 11 football, competitive cheer, dance, and boys’ lacrosse.

Moderate-risk sports are those “that involve close, sustained contact, but with protective equipment in place that may reduce the likelihood of respiratory particle transmission between participants or intermittent close contact, or group sports, or sports that use equipment that can’t be cleaned between participants,” according to DPH.

Moderate-risk sports are basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, soccer, water polo, gymnastics, ice hockey, field hockey, tennis, swimming relays, pole vault, high jump, long jump, girls’ lacrosse, rowing/crew (with two or more rowers in shell), and 7-on-7 football.

Lower-risk sports are “sports that can be done with social distancing or individually with no sharing of equipment or the ability to clean the equipment between use by competitors,” the DPH release indicates.

Those lower-risk sports are individual running events, track and field throwing events (javelin, shot-put, discus), running (staggered starts), individual swimming, golf, weightlifting, alpine skiing/snowboarding, sideline cheer, rowing/crew (single sculling), and cross country.

The DPH recommends small group conditioning and non-contact drills for lower-risk sports. It recommends allowing team practices and intra-squad scrimmages and in-state contests meets and tournaments for indoor and outdoor lower-risk sports, as well as outdoor moderate-risk sports, but recommends such practices and in-state contests for moderate-risk indoor sports if appropriate modifications are feasible. The DPH does not recommend such practices or games for any of the higher-risk sports. DPH also does not recommend out-of-state competitions with states on the Connecticut Travel Advisory List, regardless of sports risk level.

“In all cases, indoor activities should be limited to group sizes of ten or less with appropriate mitigation strategies for indoor settings in place (face coverings if practical and safe, six feet or more distancing, etc.),” according to the DPH press release.

DPH guidance makes the following recommendations for mitigation strategies that can reduce participants’ risk for contracting COVID-19 or spreading it to others engaged in the same athletic activity: moving indoor activities outdoors and keeping individuals in small cohorts; increasing and maintaining the distance between participants; implementing rule changes that reduce the number, frequency, duration, and/or exertional level of person-to-person physical contact; limiting the sharing of equipment without appropriate cleaning and disinfection; and adding face covering masks that completely cover the nose and mouth to the required equipment for players and coaches.

Director of Newtown Parks and Recreation Amy Mangold said decisions and guidance concerning the town’s sports programs will be made following consultation from Newtown Director of Health Donna Culbert. Mangold and Culbert were scheduled to meet on September 29.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) updated its fall sports plan on September 24. “All fall sports (cross country, swimming, soccer, field hockey, volleyball, and football) may “participate in full team low- to moderate-risk activities unless otherwise advised by the CIAC, a school’s local health department, or district administration,” according to the CIAC release.

CIAC’s Sports Medicine Committee has updated its position on face masks where it now recommends wearing masks for all low aerobic demand activities, including volleyball, and anaerobic conditioning activities and practices.

The CIAC will collaborate with league commissioners, athletic directors, and coaches to develop a tournament experience during the last two weeks of the fall season. No team will be eliminated from competition during this experience to maximize the number of games each team will be able to play through the fall season. The postseason is scheduled for November 7-21.

The CIAC position on fan/spectator attendance is that fans should not be allowed at interscholastic contests or practices. “We understand the complexities of individual districts who use public fields and that the ultimate decision rests with the district, however, the CIAC believes that prohibiting fan/spectator attendance aligns best with the goals of education-based athletics. Any allowance for spectators/fans should provide well marked areas that maintain social distancing and follow capacity guidelines established in Connecticut’s Phase 2 reopening plan and current CDC guidance,” according to the CIAC release.