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Mayors, leaders in athletics and a sports medicine doctor discussed the counties’ COVID-19 tier systems and their impact on youth sports in a live webinar Friday hosted by Honolulu Councilwoman Andria Tupola.
Many athletic directors shared how some measures are working in some schools, including one in Utah. Likewise, mayors shared what is working and what might happen in the future weeks to come, given the sudden rise in cases.
Tupola said Friday’s webinar was just the beginning of creating a working group to find a path forward. She is holding a hearing Tuesday at the City Council for a resolution on modifying Tiers 2 and 3 to allow for outdoor sports. She said if the counties can change things, then a lot can change on a statewide level.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who was at the end of his fifth day in office, said, “On Wednesday I would have told you I want to be a little bit more aggressive. I want to push on some of the tier system. I want to push on getting our kids out. …
“But in the last 48 hours,” he said, he’s been briefed on the case numbers and will take a wait-and-see approach on whether it is just a post-holiday spike or whether it’s the beginning of a third surge.
The discussion came as the state is surging in daily COVID-19 cases. On Thursday, Lt. Gov. Josh Green personally called for a two-week moratorium on all social gatherings to help tamp down COVID-19 cases, which had jumped Thursday to 322, the highest since 355 cases reported in mid- August, and remained high Friday with 264 new infections.
Blangiardi said, “What we’ve been asked to do is be very cautious, and irrespective of my passion, my love and my wanting to be aggressive in getting our kids back out to play, Job 1 right now is public safety.”
He stressed the need to work in balance with ongoing vaccinations and that “the kids will be able to have athletic experiences — not necessarily competing as we would all like, but being realistic, that would be healthy all the way around.”
Honolulu remains in Tier 2, which is less restrictive than Tier 1 but does not allow organized sports.
Elizabeth Ignacio, University of Hawaii sports medicine doctor, said the benefit of sports to mental health is significant. She said there has been a threefold increase in moderate to severe depression and anxiety during the pandemic.
She also cited studies that show the number of COVID- 19 cases was lower among athletes than in the general community.
Bobbie Awa, Konawaena High School girls basketball coach, said, “Losing a season has been very, very disappointing. … All these kids that want to get back out there, they use their high school careers as opportunities to play at the next level.”
On Hawaii island the gyms are closed and outdoor courts are restricted to practice, but no scrimmages are allowed, she said. “To run a league is a little impossible.”
Mayor Mitch Roth said group sports are allowed in Hawaii County parks, depending on whether they are contact (up to 25 people) or noncontact sports (up to 50 participants).
Youth sports coach Kelii Tilton said a lot of students have moved to Utah and Arizona to play football. “We want to keep them home,” he said.
“It’s not just fun and games,” he said. “We’re teaching them life lessons.”
Other students are getting jobs since they can’t play sports. “But really they’re teenagers only once,” he said.
Coaches and athletic directors at private schools shared how they’ve done things. Athletic director Steve Perry of Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Waimea on Hawaii island said students practice in smaller groups, and everyone must wear masks throughout the day, including in sports.
‘Iolani School head football coach Wendell Look said the school started football practice in July.
The school had a part-time coach test positive, but because of small pods of 10, ‘Iolani was able to contact-trace and prevent the spread
Former Kahuku High School athletic director Wendy Anae, now athletic director at Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, shared how the Utah High School Activities Association came up with safety protocols for the students, coaches and spectators.
Mayor Derek Kawakami said on Kauai that the youth on the island are not restricted from playing sports, with safety protocols, because the county has restricted travel, and most of the cases have been due to travel and not community spread.
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