RI Fall School Sports A Go: Volleyball, Football Out

PROVIDENCE, RI — School sports teams will be allowed to play this season, Gov. Gina Raimondo announced Friday. Certain fall sports will be permitted, though those classified as high-risk — football and volleyball — will be pushed off until a special season in the spring.

"There will be school sports in the state of Rhode Island this fall," Raimondo said.

Like seemingly everything else during the coronavirus pandemic, fall sports will look a lot different this year. The governor and state officials outlined what the season will look like, though the specific guidelines are still being developed by the Rhode Island Interscholastic League and the Department of Environmental Management.

Only fully outdoor sports can be played during the abbreviated season, which will be over by Thanksgiving. Teams can start practicing as early as Sept. 21. The same guidelines will apply to both middle and high school teams, and the modifications are in line with neighboring New England states, Raimondo said.

Fall sports have been broken up into three categories: allowed, allowed with modifications and not allowed.

• Allowed: cross-country, tennis
• Modified: soccer, field hockey, sideline cheering
• Not allowed: football, volleyball

Raimondo said football and volleyball are scheduled to be played in the spring during a special season known as "fall two." Because volleyball is exclusively played indoors and football is almost entirely played in extremely close contact, there was no way to safely allow them at this time, the governor explained.

"I am hopeful there will be football in the spring," she said.

Rather than focus on enforcement themselves, Raimondo said state officials' goal is to provide a broad framework of safety regulations. It will be the responsibility of school leadership, coaches, parents and the RIIL to make sure they are being followed.

"The right thing to do is to let these kids play sports and follow the rules, so they can continue to play," Raimondo said, adding that if they are not, there will be no choice but to re-evaluate and potentially stop the season early.

Janet Coit, the director of the DEM, said mask-wearing will likely be required for most sports. Other likely regulations include protocols for disinfecting balls, penalties for intentional contact and electronic whistles for referees.

All students, regardless of their school's decision to fully re-open are eligible to play sports this fall, Raimondo said, saying she does not believe it's fair to penalize students for decisions outside their control. This also applies to Central Falls and Providence, which were unable to reopen for fully in-person learning.