Section VI Council facing busy week

With the scheduled start of fall high school sports practice  now less than two weeks away on September 21, the Section VI Executive Council is facing for a busy week of discussions not only with the sectional sports chairmen but also with member school districts throughout the section.

In a statement released today, Section VI Executive Committee President Brett Banker notes that the Executive Committee has reviewed the fall sports guidelines issued by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) last Friday. He added that the committee will now be in contact with with both member schools and sectional sports chair people to answer questions about and interpret those guidelines.

In his statement Banker said  “the Executive Committee has reviewed the document. We will be reaching out to our sports chair people to answer any questions that they have. We will open lines of communication further by surveying our membership. interpreting the results and determining where we are as a Section. We hope to have a clear direction this week.

He went on to state “it is our important responsibility as an Executive Committee to review the guidelines from numerous sources and prepare a plan for the school districts in our Section to utilize if they so desire.”

Importantly he stressed that “having said that, we know that local districts have the ultimate responsibility and this is a school-by-school decision.”

Banker concluded by stating “we recognize how difficult these decisions are and there are varying opinions and strong feelings. Interscholastic athletics means so much to everyone involved. At the center of our focus is our student athletes. All of us want our students back playing and competing safely. The attributes derived from competing are obvious to all of us.”