Natalie O鈥橣arrell and Casey Anderson are locked in on July 24.
That鈥檚 the deadline when the University of 蜜柚直播 will officially announce how and if students will return for classes in the fall semester.
After that it will be a sprint for Campus Recreation staff to determine what intramural sports will really look like is this COVID-19 world.
For now, they are in somewhat of a holding pattern. That鈥檚 not to say they aren鈥檛 doing anything.
O鈥橣arrell, associate director of programs; and Anderson, assistant director of sport programs, have spent many hours working through different scenarios depending on whether students are on campus. And, all their plans look different from the 蜜柚直播 Athletics reentry plan.
鈥淎thletes鈥 environments can be more controlled 鈥 ours cannot,鈥 O鈥橣arrell said. 鈥淲e may get an individual an hour a day, and we don鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e doing the other 23 hours. We assume that there鈥檚 some sort of personal responsibility associated with that. But you can鈥檛 rely on that.
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鈥淲e can only control what we can control, and that鈥檚 within those four walls 鈥 the Rec Center or outside. And, we don鈥檛 have the resources to test everyone that comes in.鈥
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e just trying to figure out is, what is everyone else doing? What are best practices for a safety standpoint? How are we going to manage this? And, to be honest, how are we financially going to be able to manage this? If students are online in the fall, if there鈥檚 a hybrid, what鈥檚 the best thing for the safety of our students, the safety of our participants and the safety of our staff? Casey and I talk pretty much every day about 鈥極K, what鈥檚 the scenario?鈥 Each day is different.鈥
Campus Recreation fields 29 club sports and anywhere from eight to 12 intramural sports each semester. Add to that the other offerings including swimming, fitness and wellness, the youth program, and outdoor and challenge programs. That鈥檚 a lot to prepare for in any school year, let alone one that calls for social distancing and other safety guidelines because of the coronavirus pandemic.
For intramurals, one of the models for this fall is not having the officiated sports 鈥 indoor and outdoor soccer, flag football and 5-on-5 basketball. While these are their most popular sports, they also have the most contact.
鈥淯ltimately, there鈥檚 too much risk for both the participants and our staff. And we don鈥檛 want to be opening up more liability than needs to be,鈥 Anderson said. 鈥淭he No. 1 focus is the safety of participants and staff.鈥
Many replacement options are on the table including cornhole, badminton and Wiffle ball. It all depends on the guidelines.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty difficult to make those final decisions without knowing the direction we鈥檙e going,鈥 Anderson said.
Another model that they used last spring when classes went online, was focusing on eSports. They offered 鈥淢adden NFL 20,鈥 鈥淣BA 2K 20,鈥 鈥淣HL 20鈥 and 鈥淔IFA 20.鈥 They are looking to expand to 鈥淩ocket League,鈥 鈥淢ario Kart鈥 and others. It was successful at first, but the summer league had a bit of a drop-off, which Anderson thinks may have been because of 鈥渧irtual fatigue.鈥
Officiated sports with lots of contact pose too much risk, UA program administrators say.
If possible, they鈥檇 still like to have a balance in their programming and prefer in-person.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 replace participation in person,鈥 O鈥橣arrell said. 鈥淥ne of the challenges that we鈥檝e gotten back from these participants is that sense of community that we really strive for 鈥 it鈥檚 just not there. We wonder is it worth it to do something like that or to provide an offering that isn鈥檛 the same, but yet it鈥檚 still engaging people? I think those are some of the questions that we鈥檙e going to struggle with is how do we engage people and yet stick with these guidelines that are set forth?鈥
Fortunately, O鈥橣arrell and Anderson aren鈥檛 in this alone. There are others working on the same challenges, including those in the national organization 鈥 National Intramural Recreational Sports Association.
They participate in discussions every week about the evolving situation. Both are in Facebook groups with those in the same positions as them across the country.
They are listening to advice from health officials in the city, county, state and the CDC. They also talk to High School Federations, gyms around 蜜柚直播, as well as Dr. Stephen Paul from UA Campus Health, who is heading up UA Athletics reentry team.
As an assistant team physician, Paul has worked with club sports in the past. They are gathering all these perspectives and learning.
鈥淭he information is there, it鈥檚 how does it best apply to the University of 蜜柚直播 and our current facility, our current situation,鈥 O鈥橣arrell said. 鈥淗ow are we going to be able to enforce and to establish these guidelines so that they are effective within this specific community?
鈥淭here鈥檚 not one defining guideline for everybody to follow. No matter where you are, do you wear a mask? Do you not wear a mask? What does reopening look like? I think it鈥檚 because it鈥檚 such a unique time for everybody that everyone鈥檚 looking for something to be definitive, and it changes all the time.鈥
When they do reopen 鈥 hopefully, before the semester starts 鈥 it will be a gradual, phased approach that a lot of thought has gone behind.
They are excited to get back up at full speed but determined to balance that with having a safe environment.
鈥淲e want them (students) back, but we want them safe and in an environment in which it is safe for them. I think that鈥檚 what鈥檚 most important is that we鈥檙e not putting anybody at risk. We miss them greatly,鈥 O鈥橣arrell said.
