Schools And Fans: Caution Or Control?
Restricting fan access sets worrisome precedent as outdoor sports seasons set to begin next week
(Photo Credit: Science Magazine)
Well into an abbreviated basketball season, some observations from game sites that should not surprise readers of this newsletter.
Schools, when it comes to crowds, are restricting fan access as instructed by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Falling under the category “Staffing and Attendance”, here are guidelines for spectator limits as recommended by the Illinois Department of Public Health:
When located in a region not facing specific mitigation efforts outlined in the Restore Illinois guidelines:
Gatherings of up to 50 spectators, indoors or outdoors, are allowed.
This applies to all sports organizers in Illinois as every region is in Phase 4.
Under the category “Physical Workspace,” here’s another recommended mitigation that applies to hosting basketball games:
Sports organizers or venues should configure space to ensure there is at least 30 feet social distance between spectators and participants or, in the case 30 feet is not practicable for the venue, spectators are seated on the opposite side of the playing space (e.g., field, court) from participants not actively engaged in play and at a distance of at least 12 feet from participants.
What this means in practice is gymnasiums are putting fans in bleachers on the opposite side of where the benches/sidelines are to meet the 30 feet social distance requirement. Organizers then measure 12 feet from the' ‘opposite side of the playing space’ to the bleachers and that’s the closest fans can sit in relation to the court.
Of the four games I have attended, organizers are being very meticulous in following the ‘12 feet’ rule (I’ve seen athletic officials with tape measures out, making sure the distance is 12 feet and using some kind of place marker to note the distance). Most are marking spots in the bleachers for individual assigned ‘fan pods’, which is the same as reserved seating.
What I have not seen? 50 spectators. Or even close to it.
The night I attended a Libertyville-Mundelein boys game (Feb. 17), there were no spectators. After the players, game personnel and officials, there was just little old me and a Costco-sized jug of hand sanitizer occupying a massive gymnasium (the sleepy environment reminded me of a Thursday afternoon blues rock stage at Lollapalooza, minus the hand sanitizer).
Libertyville Athletic Director John Woods said the school was basically using that night as a dress rehearsal and planned to allow spectators for games scheduled the rest of the week.
But even then, Woods said the plan was to allocate two tickets per rostered player. Libertyville’s varsity roster lists 17 players. So that means 34 tickets are allocated.
If I’m doing my math correct (always tricky for a journalist) that’s 16 less than the mandated 50.
This policy of two spectators per rostered players is consistent with every place I’ve gone (Woodland Middle School, Notre Dame College Prep, Libertyville and Carmel Catholic). The number of fans is less than what’s allowable.
Here’s another line lifted from the IDPH “Staffing and Guidance” page:
Sports organizers should limit spectators to immediate household members or guardians of participants. Others should be considered only if space allows.
Where I’ve gone, no one has yet to consider ‘others should be considered.’ And based on reasonable observation, they can consider others as there is plenty of space to allow for 50 spectators in these facilities (and many more).
But they’re not doing it. And that’s a problem.
When Gov. Pritzker and his IDPH valets reversed course two days after Inauguration Day and granted permission for basketball to have a season, a feelings of gratitude were appropriate. That emotion, that of thankfulness, remains top of mind for coaches and players, appreciative for the opportunity to represent their school this winter for however long they can.
“We’re just so happy to be playing together,” is a common quote amongst coaches and players. Understandable.
Having parents and fans in the stands, such a vital accessory to the high school experience, is almost an after thought. And it will remain that way for basketball as by the pace with which public health officials make decisions in this state, there is no chance an adjustment will be made to the spectator limit.
I’m thinking ahead, to the spring and summer sports played outdoors, the first of which start next week.
Because here’s what happens when schools continue to exercise an ‘abundance of caution’ even when that caution falls below public health guidelines (remember, they are guidelines not mandates).
What happens is it gives those in charge of public health zero incentive to modify already arbitrary and data-less guidelines.
Almost a year into the coronavirus pandemic, there is plenty of information about sporting events and the virus. Some of the best data is from professional sports and major college sports.
Remember back in the summer, when the Covidbros in mainstream media chastised the NFL and NCAA for playing their football seasons? Because the NFL and NCAA ignored emotional pleas to surrender from clueless media, we now have valuable data.
(The NFL and college football played this season because they are a business first. It’s about the money. I get it. But the economic incentive motivated them to get it right. And because they got through their seasons safely, we now have data that is a benefit to not just sports leagues, but to society at large. Where are the MSM articles taking that approach? Not going to find it).
What the data tells us from the NFL and NCAA is not only can games be played safely, but fans can be there as well.
A medical journal recently published a study titled “The Effect of NFL and NCAA Football Games on the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States: An Empirical Analysis.” According to the study, the objective is to “assess whether NFL and NCAA football games with limited in-person attendance have contributed to a substantial increase in COVID-19 cases in the counties they were held.”
Under the summary category “Main Outcomes and Measures” it says:
Estimating the impact of NFL and NCAA games with in-person attendance on new, reported COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents at the county-level up to 14 days post-game.
A summary of results:
The matching algorithm returned 361 matching sets of counties. The effect of in-person attendance at NFL and NCAA games on community COVID-19 spread is not significant as it did not surpass 5 new daily cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents on average.
Whom in Illinois is reviewing these studies? Is there active dialogue about reassessing the merits of public health guidelines?
Or is everyone just “happy to be playing?”
It’s time to move past that minimum standard and ask for more.
On the IDPH Sports Guidance page, before pages of tiers and levels and mitigations is a simple line that states, “this guidance will be regularly updated as public health conditions change and new information becomes available.”
Well, Illinois High School Association and member schools, new information is now available.
Covid cases are down over 75% since beginning of the year and estimates say 150 million people will have received a vaccine dose by the end of March.
Locally, with a few minor incidents, teams are getting through their seasons with no interruptions. Predictably, athletes and coaches are taking mitigations seriously because they want to play.
So what are we waiting for here?
The 50 spectator limit is not supported by any data or study. It is a whimsical number and is unjustified. As capricious as the number is, schools do have to follow it. But to not grant the 50 allowable spectators?
That is discretionary and unsupported.
And worrisome.
Because it rewards ‘abundance of caution’ over ‘reasonable and logical.’ Group thinkers rationalize keeping fans out by saying ‘health and safety’ is of the utmost importance. In reality, that’s not true. What’s comes first are their own anxieties and uneasiness about the current climate (how they interpret what’s ‘healthy and safe’). That’s perfectly fine if running a flower shop but when holding the key to massive indoor and outdoor sporting facilities publicly funded by taxpayers, personal feelings are irrelevant.
50 is 50. Not 35, not 40. It’s 50. So give them the damn 50.
Late Monday, I received an email from Matt Troha, the communications director of the IHSA. He was responding to a question I had about changes to the spectator limit:
It is our hope that the spectator limit can be expanded for outdoor sports as we move into the spring and summer. We are sharing all relevant information that we have with IDPH on this and other topics related to athletic participation during the pandemic. Ultimately, IDPH would have to alter its All-Sports Policy guidelines for this to occur. They have shown adaptability on a number of other items All-Sports Policy based on information and data shared by the IHSA, so while no announcement it necessarily imminent, we do believe there is a possibility that outdoor spectator guidelines could be expanded.
Troha’s response is encouraging because as we get to the spring and summer, and games played outside, demand will increase. People are not going to want to stay home anymore. Football is an economic and social driver in towns and cities all over this state. Outdated public health guidelines, combined with officious, regulatory-happy administrators, simply is not going to work.
There’s not enough time to change things for basketball.
But for football and other outdoor sports, it’s time to ask for more fans.
I don’t know what that number is exactly but I can offer a sensible figure.
It’s well north of 50.