On Saturday, Sept. 26, I decided to attend the Priory Cross Country Meet. I knew there were new rules in place such as that there could only be two fans per active athlete and that everyone must be wearing a mask and be socially distanced. So, when Senior Carter Mercer told me that his parents would not be attending, I decided to attend as a member of the press.

When I arrived I parked in the church lot, put my mask on, and then walked to multiple spots on the course to watch the runners. At most of the locations, I noticed proper social distancing and mask-wearing. However, when I got to the finish line this changed. 

At the finish line, a lot of adults were not wearing masks or social distancing. Clusters were forming and they were excitedly discussing the race while wearing “Chin Diapers,” as the television show South Park so eloquently describes masks under the nose and mouth. At this moment I realized that there was a real disconnect between the rules and what was actually happening. If one fan at that meet had COVID-19 Priory could have had a super spreader situation which most likely would have led to the shutdown of sports.  

This meet made me realize that the students are not the only variable at play here. We keep hearing people say that high schoolers are being irresponsible and that this is why sports are not resuming. This is true in many ways and if students want to play sports we need to be more responsible. However, we must also urge adults to do the same. It is harder to tell an adult to put a mask on than a kid, but it is something that needs to be done. 

The disconnect between the rules needs to cease to exist or else sports will not last very long. So for the sake of the student-athletes who have worked so hard to get to play, I urge parents to take the same precautions. Wear masks and social distance so that the students can continue to play.