La Conner volleyball team set to play together

Spikes on the volleyball court would be a most welcome change from those in COVID-19 cases.

The hope is that will soon be the case.

Especially in La Conner, where the two-time defending state champion Lady Braves are cleared to resume full team activities under anti-COVID guidelines set by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), which governs school sports and extra-curricular programs in the state.

“The WIAA is allowing full team practices for activities and sports that are considered low or moderate at-risk if they are situated in areas that are considered in low or moderate risk areas (for the coronavirus),” La Conner Schools interim Superintendent Rich Stewart said on Saturday.

Despite a bump in COVID-19 cases last week, Skagit County remains a moderate risk area for the virus. And volleyball is deemed a moderate risk activity.

Not so, basketball. At least for the present.

“The WIAA executive board considers basketball a high-risk activity,” Stewart said, “so we are waiting to see if they move this into a moderate risk activity, which they are considering.”

School sports teams have been allowed to practice with coaches on a limited basis since Sept. 28. The WIAA has extended that window from Nov. 30 to mid-December.

“Currently,” Stewart told the Weekly News, “we have cohorts of student-athletes on campus allowed to work on sports specific skills. This means five students and one coach. No locker rooms (are used) and they must wear masks when not in strenuous activities and go through health screenings each day.”

After the WIAA opted to allow full practices for low and moderate risk sports, Stewart met last week with other La Conner Schools officials to discuss how the state standards could be employed locally.

“Our current decision,” said Stewart, “is to allow the volleyball team, which is considered at moderate risk, to go to full team activity, with the same restrictions.”

La Conner High head volleyball coach Suzanne Marble, who has guided the program to five state crowns (2002, 2006, 2007, 2018, 2019), reacted positively to the news.

“A little normal is back,” said Marble, whose practice sessions heretofore have been limited to 3-on-2 drills rather than six to a side scrimmaging.

Under the 2020-21 sports competition schedule approved by the WIAA, volleyball matches and football games are slated from March to May.

Basketball tips off in early January.

The WIAA this year has replaced the traditional three season (fall, winter, spring) sports format with four shorter seasons due to the virus crisis.

Many districts, La Conner among them, delayed the start of school this fall and opted to begin the year with primarily on-line instruction.

Safety in response to the pandemic continues to be the top priority at La Conner Schools, Stewart stressed.

“At this time, it’s important, where safe, to allow students to resume activities,” he said. “We have small groups of students on campus for academic support where needed and our kindergarten students are on campus in groups of five once a week for face-to-face instruction.

“As a district,” he added, “we are moving slowly and cautiously with the objective to get to on-campus instruction as soon as possible.

“We are still maintaining our stance,” said Stewart, “that we will not attempt any major changes until (the end of the) trimester at the elementary and (the end of the) semester at the secondary school.”