'Rona could wipe out winter sports

A
t the beginning of October, I was totally jacked when the Wyoming High School Activities Association announced that winter sports had been given the green light to go for the 2020-2021 season. 
Despite a couple of snags along the way, fall sports were able to finish out and athletes were able to enjoy their season even though those activities were a little bit different from what they were used to.
Unfortunately, in the last couple of weeks, Covid-19 has blown up across the state and in Weston County as well. It took a minute, but it was inevitable that it would finally get to us, but now I’m afraid that winter sports are in peril.
While I felt a pretty sweet sense of relief when the new Smart Start guidelines for winter sports came out on Monday, I’m still concerned about whether or not they will get to see their seasons to fruition.
As much as we want to downplay this virus, the fact is that it is here and it is influencing our lives. Downplaying it hasn’t stopped it from spreading, and the more it ramps up,
the more likely it will be
that we will again begin to shut down.
Schools, businesses and sports will be in jeopardy if we can’t all come to an agreement to do what we can to slow the spread.
Until we have a vaccine and a working knowledge of how this virus works, we need to take the proper precautions in order to give schools, businesses and sports the chance to continue to function.
And the fact of the matter is that if we want to go to sporting events this winter, we are going to have to wear a mask. The WHSAA and the State Health Department has made mask wearing mandatory for everyone in the building excluding the players on the court, or the wrestlers on the mat.
Governor Mark Gordon, in a press conference on Friday morning, made it clear that Wyoming will be instituting more restrictive measures, though he didn’t identify anything specific at this time. He did say that decisions will be made throughout the next week, and stated that a mandatory mask mandate may be a possibility.
His goal is to help businesses survive the winter, keep kids in school, and ease the pressure on hospitals around the state.
The Ivy League has cancelled its winter sports and put off spring sports until after Feb. 1, Lincoln, Neb., has postponed the start of winter sports for three weeks, and North Dakota has postponed their winter season until Dec. 14, thereby effectively avoiding competition until after the first of
the year. 
With states around us shutting down or putting off the start of the winter seasons, it may not be long for Wyoming. No one likes wearing a mask, but it’s time to put aside our individual issues with PPE and do what’s needed to try to keep our schools open and give our kids a chance to play basketball, wrestle and swim this winter.