As athletes protest over paused season, CIAC to meet with state health department

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    CHESHIRE, CT (WFSB) — Student-athletes rallied at the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference headquarters in Cheshire on Thursday morning, with the message: “Let us play.”

Students said their aim was to convince the CIAC to let athletes start their season.

However, the coronavirus hasn’t gone away and neither has the controversy of whether or not it’s safe to play sports.

The CIAC’s Board of Control ruled last week that it was safe to play. It released a plan that included fewer games, a regional schedule, and social distancing guidelines whenever possible.

A day later, the Department of Public Health advised against playing football and girls volleyball. It said those high-risk sports should be canceled or postponed until spring.

The CIAC responded by pausing fall sports for two weeks.

“I don’t think there is a right answer. I hate to be one of the decision makers. No matter what they do, they don’t know if it’s right or wrong,” said Joe Dellavecchia, coach at St. Joseph’s High School.

On March 10, hundreds of student athletes rallied outside the CIAC office after it decided to cancel winter sports tournaments.

Several school districts are now making their own decisions on what to do this fall.

New Haven canceled practices and games for the time being. Bridgeport postponed football and volleyball to next spring. Coventry delayed all fall sports activities for two weeks.

“We’re going to support and stand by schools superintendents, whatever decision they make that’s in the best interested of their kids, and we hope people can respect our side of it as well,” said Glenn Lungarini, CIAC.

The CIAC’s meeting with the Department of Public Health is early Thursday evening and it’s likely they won’t release any details until Friday morning.

The CIAC has said from the beginning that its plan to play this fall is fluid, which means whatever decision comes out of the meeting on Thursday is only good until the next meeting.

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