One KY district opts out of fall sports. Others impose fan limits, ban public from games.

As one Northern Kentucky school district decided against fall sports, others around the state are developing limits on fan attendance with games set to begin Monday.

Erlanger/Elsmere Superintendent Chad Molley announced Tuesday that his district would not participate in high contact fall sports until it could do so safely. That district’s high school is Lloyd Memorial.

In Fayette County, information on who can come to games next week has trickled out to some of its athletic teams, but the district’s full policies have not been released. Communications to soccer parents at Bryan Station, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Tates Creek indicate Fayette will limit players to four or five family members each and attendees must be submitted for an entry list this week and remain the same throughout the season. The communications indicate those fans will be the only ones allowed at games.

Fayette fan limits on other sports, such as football, which typically rosters many more players, remain undetermined. Wednesday night, Fayette schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said district officials are still working with athletic directors and principals to finalize guidelines for athletic events with limited attendance and no public sales.

“At this time we are not considering open ticket sales to members of the public,” Deffendall said.

Meanwhile Scott County Schools officials on Wednesday said there will be no public ticket sales and no public admittance at fall sport games, but student participants can have two tickets each for guests. Walton-Verona announced late Wednesday on Twitter that it would be limiting fan attendance to 33 percent capacity at its facilities, but was still working on details to ensure parents would be guaranteed entry.

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s draft guidance for COVID-19 issues, including fan attendance, does not impose any mandates on capacity, but directs districts to work with their local health departments to develop those rules. It recommends several options well short of full capacity and says schools should consider allowing no more than 50 percent capacity at their venues.

The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is allowing each school to determine its own capacity rules in keeping with the KHSAA guidance, spokesman Kevin Hall told the Herald-Leader Thursday morning,

Football kicks off Sept. 11 with other sports beginning as soon as Monday.

In Erlanger, Molley said in a letter to families that it is his first priority is to get students back to in-person instruction and high contact sports don’t help mitigate COVID-19. KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett has previously acknowledged that some districts could opt out of this season as schools in Fort Campbell and Fort Knox already have. KHSAA participation is voluntary.

In Scott County, officials said in announcing their attendance policy: “In a community that rallies behind our thriving athletic program, we know this is a disappointment and that it places a burden on families of athletes because only two family members will be there to cheer them on this year,” the statement said. “However, we are thankful for the opportunity provided to our students to do what they love this fall in a protected environment, even in the wake of a global pandemic.”

As student athletes participate and compete in middle and high school fall sports, Scott school officials said, each student participant will have two tickets for guests to attend the sport in which they participate. For example, at a high school football game, each football player, cheerleader, dancer, and band member will have two tickets allotted to them. These will be the only spectators admitted to the game.

“Due to the strict guidelines that govern school sports programs, this year we must limit public participation to ensure our students get the chance to play, “ the statement said. “This includes all season pass holders, employees of Scott County Schools, senior citizen passes, other community passes like those provided to emergency service personnel and local pastors, and corporate sponsors.”

Masks and social distancing will be required at all events for Scott County fall sports. Concessions will be limited to bottled drinks and prepackaged foods, according to district athletic director DT Wells.

There have been a number of early season cancellations around the state due to concerns including transportation.

The Ledger-Independent (Maysville) reported Thursday that Fleming County’s football team has canceled its season opener against Rowan County and has shut down practices after the program’s fourth positive COVID-19 was recorded on Monday.

A Sept. 12 football game between Lexington Christian and Madison Southern was added and then removed from the calendar this week. LCA replaced that game with a trip to DeSales. Lafayette girls soccer was scheduled to host Montgomery County Wednesday for its opener, but that game has been canceled. Webster County announced on Twitter Wednesday that its first three football games against Fulton County, Fulton City and Caverna were all canceled and that it was seeking replacements The Caverna game was later put back on the schedule.

Montgomery County’s scheduled Sept. 11 football game at Clark County was moved to Nov. 6.

High school sports has become a hotbed issue in the state this fall as players, families and fans have pleaded with officials to allow them to move forward despite the pandemic. All high school spring sports in Kentucky were canceled during the spring lockdown and the boys’ and girls’ state basketball tournaments were also lost.

But the stakes for playing are high. A player who tests positive after a game could potentially impact that player’s team, their families and the opponent’s team and their families.

“Lexington players who test positive will be isolated at home until they are released by the health department, following symptom-based guidelines,” Hall said Thursday, laying out the implications. “The period of isolation varies depending on the case’s symptoms. Family members who are household contacts will be quarantined until 14 days after the last exposure, as for any other case of COVID-19.

“Following a case at an event, LFCHD will work with the school to determine who at the event likely had close contact with the case and therefore should be quarantined due to the exposure. If residents of other counties are involved, LFCHD will coordinate with other local health departments.”

As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Gov. Andy Beshear said there were 816 newly reported coronavirus cases. One hundred and sixteen of the newly reported cases were from children ages 18 and younger, of which 18 were children ages 5 and under. The youngest was only 2 months old.

This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 10:30 AM.