10 October 2020
Re: Re-Starting Sport Contests in “Red” Counties
Students and Parents,
Beginning with the cancellation of the football game on Friday, September 25, we set a precedent for not travelling to & completing in counties identified as being “Red” as determined by the Ohio Public Health’s Advisory system. That decision has subsequently impacted Westfall’s participation in other sports contests. Initially, we made this decision out of an abundance of caution. The safety and wellbeing of all of our students, in addition to our student athletes, was at the center of the decision making process. This is especially true since we were just returning to five day a week, in-person classes. Our first priority must be for the Westfall community as a whole, and not just the desires of a single activity’s participants and fans.
Sometimes the impact of our decisions is not fully understood, nor the consequences fully realized. As with any decision that impacts our students, we made the best decision we could with the information we had at the time. As such, we continue to reevaluate the situation and our participation in activities in and around areas marked as “Red” by Ohio Public Health. No single individual is responsible for making these decisions. We reach these decisions as the result of consultation with state and local agencies, league school representatives, and district administration.
After having consulted with school officials in our fellow league schools, we are confident that there are enough precautions in place to resume league, non-league, and tournament play beginning Monday, October 12, 2020. The possibility of making up any missed contests is being explored at this time. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep the safety of our students at the forefront of our decision making.
Thank you,
Billy R. Dennis
Principal
Westfall High School