NORWICH – New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday January 22 that winter high school sports deemed a high risk could resume on February 1 if schools met a number of guidelines and requirements.

Though the state set a date, it is unclear when districts could actually resume those sports depending on a number of factors effecting each district in the state differently.

Schools must following guidance from their local county health departments and navigate a litany of other considerations and restrictions, as they work to safely bring student athletes back.

“The process has been fluid. The process started back in March when our country was hit by the COVID–19 pandemic,” said Norwich Athletic Coordinator Rich Turnbull. According to Turnbull, following the decision to suspend 2020 fall sports, the primary focus was to resume high school athletics in some capacity in 2021.

Important to note is that even in the event that the Norwich City School District successfully resumes high risk winter sports, scheduling these athletic events may prove difficult as the Southern Tier Athletic Conference (STAC), which Norwich is a member of, made a decision to only allow completion within their counties for winter high risk sports. This means, that student-athletes from Norwich will not be allowed to compete against their normal divisional opponents.