A series of lawsuits between the state of California and indoor sports activists resulted in a settlement last week that paved the way for the return of some youth and high school sports.
The settlement puts all youth and high school sports into the same reopening system and is based on the testing protocols used for collegiate and professional teams. With the new guidelines, the state will allow indoor sports such as basketball, volleyball and wrestling to be played in counties with adjusted case rates below 14 per 100,000. The Peninsula Athletic League has basketball and wrestling competitions scheduled for mid-April, though counties and school districts can have more restrictive measures or choose to opt-out.
Masks will be required for coaches and players on the bench, but not on the court. Like high-contact outdoor sports, indoor teams must test weekly if their county has a case rate greater than 7 per 100,000. The teams will not have to be tested once the county falls into the sport’s original tier designation.
For example, basketball players are required to test weekly until their respective county gets into the yellow tier, meaning an adjusted case rate reaches fewer than 1 per 100,000.