Spectators Now Allowed at HS Sports Events, Other Limits Remain

State officials have reversed course on a policy banning spectators at school sports events, although it remains to be seen how impactful the decision will be, with other limits on attendance still in place.

Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf’s administration said Wednesday that everyone in attendance at a sporting event counts toward the state’s 25 person indoor and 250 person outdoor limits; limits in place for gatherings during the ongoing green phase of Pennsylvania’s reopening from COVID-19.

Wolf last month strongly recommended that all school sports be postponed until at least Jan. 1, 2021, although it also stressed that “school administrators and locally-elected school boards should make decisions on sports.”

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) subsequently delayed the start of fall season competitive sports, but later voted to allow them to be played.

According to updated school sports guidance published on Wolf’s website “all individuals present at the facility at which (sporting events) are held count towards gathering limitations and must comply with face covering order and social distancing guidelines.”

In Saucon Valley, there are an estimated 230 people–including players, coaches, staff, band members, first responders and media–whose attendance is required at football games, meaning the policy change will likely have little practical effect even if the district’s school board votes to allow football, and/or any other fall sports, to be played.

Saucon Valley is reportedly the only Colonial League district that hasn’t yet decided whether or not to allow an abbreviated football season to commence later this month with safety precautions for players in place to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

If it does, the first game for the Panthers will be Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at Pen Argyl.

The school board will likely decide the fate of football–a contact sport that is considered higher risk because of the potential for disease transmission to occur during it–and the district’s other fall sports at its meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. on Zoom.