The news broke last week that sports are returning to Healdsburg High School, but what does that really mean? Certain sports are allowed to have a competitive season depending on the county tier, and competition is only permitted within your specific county. Currently, Sonoma County is in the purple tier, which allows only Cross Country, Golf, Skiing/ Snowboarding, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, and Track & Field to have a sports season. Regardless of the tier, the county is in “Physical conditioning, practice, skill-building, and training that can be conducted outdoors, with 6-feet of physical distancing, and within the stable team, cohorts are currently authorized for all sports” per California Interscholastic Federation. 

Cross Country, for example, is currently practicing at 4 every day at the grove and is accepting new runners. They are allowed to have up to 30 runners and will have 4 meets this upcoming season on March 10th,14th,17th, and 31st. Per the Athletic Director Brian Osborn “Everyone in our league is participating in events.” Sadly, there will be no student attendance at these meets as of right now, though as we move up in tiers that could change. In a sport such as a baseball, there is a much better chance. 

If you're interested in participating in a sport to stay in shape and your sport still isn't guaranteed to happen, joining one of these teams competing in the purple tier is a good way to satisfy your competitive side while staying in shape and waiting for your main sport to get the green light. Be warned though, 

It's good to get back out there and see people regularly as Coach Mike Efram states “The joy I see with the runners is great, people are smiling.” Who knows? Maybe we'll hear about classes opening up soon. On this point Athletic Director Mr. Brian Osborn stated that it is “hard to get freshman’s attention without being on campus” and teams are having to adapt. Additionally, he stated that “the only way to meet people is through sports,” so joining one of these teams could be your best chance for meeting new people with safe interaction. 

If you are holding out for your sport, the AD stated that “Things are looking positive” and as we see the numbers going down, we can keep our fingers crossed to move down a tier. Sports in the red tier consist of Baseball, Field Hockey, Girls Lacrosse, and Softball. The orange tier consists of Badminton, Football, Gymnastics, Boys Lacrosse, Soccer, Volleyball, and Water Polo. Lastly, the yellow tier consists of Basketball, Competitive Cheerleading, and Wrestling. These sports all have a chance of happening and have not been canceled yet, so keep your fingers crossed and hope for a season.