AUGUSTA — As the landscape constantly changes in the face of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic — and the distinct possibility schools continue remote learning in September — alternative solutions for high school sports to be safely played in the fall are being discussed.
David Utterback, athletic director at Brewer High School, submitted a proposal to the Maine Principals’ Association which outlines a plan to move sports with lower contact rate to the fall and those with higher contact rate to the spring to avoid potential spread of coronavirus.
The proposal is seen as an alternative to the traditional layout of high school sports if the Maine Department of Education makes the determination schools are not ready to fully reopen in the fall and remote learning must continue on some basis.
The idea, generally, is to push sports with less inherent social distancing built in down the road to give a chance for the pandemic to ease or a vaccine to be developed.