The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way Greene County activities director Todd Gordon sees the fall sports season and the start of the school year. “We want to make it through October. We want to have a Christmas concert,” he said at a recent Jefferson Rotary meeting.
Coaches have changed practices to keep players healthy, he explained, keeping groups of athletes as small as possible, changing groupings as often as possible, and maintaining as much distance as possible.
Keeping athletes healthy is only part of the challenge. A large uptick in the number of Covid-19 cases in the county would require the schools to move to online learning only. “According to the CDC, large gatherings create the highest risk of transmission,” Gordon said.
Fall sports fans will see some changes put in place to minimize the spread of Covid-19. The Ram activities department is following guidance from the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union in limiting the number of spectators and strongly recommending face masks.
First, players, cheerleaders and band members will each get six wristbands for family members. A wristband will entitle the wearer to buy a ticket for seating in the main bleachers at volleyball or football games. Bleachers will be marked with dots to signify spaces for family groups. Students in grades K-8 must sit with their family group.
Those with wristbands who are buying tickets at the gate are asked to use correct change whenever possible. Football admission is $5 for adults and students; volleyball admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students.
At Linduska Field, bleachers have been moved from the baseball field and the school borrowed bleachers from the Little League field to add seating for the general public.
The high school student section will be in the far south bleachers on the home side of the field. Students can purchase tickets at the activities office at the high school starting the Wednesday prior to a home game. Seating capacity is 60. Students will be expected to wear a face covering during the entire game, even in the bleachers.
Football fans who don’t have wristbands can buy tickets online via Home Town Ticketing through a link that will be posted on social media the Monday morning prior to a home game. There will be seven “boxes” (as Gordon calls them) for up to four persons each along both end zones. There will be three boxes for up to two persons each north of the main bleachers. Fans with boxes should bring lawn chairs or blankets; there is no seating.
A small set of bleachers has been placed at the north end of the field near the concession stand. Ten seats will be available there. The picnic area between the concession stand and main bleachers will be sold to one group of up to 12 persons.
There will also be spaces for 17 vehicles to park along the north end with a view of the field. According to Gordon, the number of people per vehicle will not be monitored.
The visiting team will be sent 180 wristbands.
Anyone who needs help purchasing tickets can call activities secretary Misty Bettey at 515-386-2188 once tickets are available.
All schools in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference will expect everyone to wear a face covering when entering or leaving a gym or football field, and while making trips to the concession stand or restrooms. Fans (except those in the student section) are free to remove their masks in their designated seating area.
Finally, families and fans are asked to leave the facility immediately after the game.
Gordon said there are things to learn during the pandemic. “We pride ourselves in the lifelong benefits of activities. Right now, we’re teaching our kids how to adapt,” he said.
Parents, fans, and students need to be patient with each other, too. “We need to live in a period of grace. We need to live in the middle, not in this world of extremes,” he said.
“We will adapt. We will overcome. We will make it work. We’ll get through it,” Gordon said.
