Dust off the cleats.
After a lengthy and frustrating suspension, city high school sports — including football — will finally resume next month, officials said Monday.
The Department of Education will allow all sports to resume strength and conditioning activities next month and begin competitive play in May.
To help make up for lost time, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that seasons will extend into the summer.
“We’re bringing back school sports,” Hizzoner said. “We’re going to bring back all sports with strict safety protocols.”
De Blasio said that athletic activities will be moved outdoors whenever possible.
“We’re going to extend our seasons into the summer,” he said. “We’re going to go all the way to August. We’re going to give kids who missed out on sports a chance to catch up and have a much better experience.”
Masks and weekly testing will be required and no spectators will be permitted at events.
“We need to understand that this is for the kids. Even though I was for years and years a sports parent,” he said. “I loved going to the games. This is not that kind of situation because we can’t have big crowds”
City coaches, kids, and parents have long complained that there has been little guidance given as to the eventual return of public high school sports since the pandemic took hold.
