With the number of COVID infections declining and the governor’s announcement last month that mask-wearing was optional in the state, the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association announced that it has changed course and now thinks high school athletes should have their choice, mask or no mask, for all upcoming state playoff games.
The ruling — which followed the governor’s executive order last month — means schools are free to tell their athletes they no longer need to wear masks to compete in athletic competitions.
In March, the NHIAA’s sports medicine council voted to require masks at all high school sports events, with the option to review the policy in May and perhaps loosen it.
“We said that we should look at it again,” said NHIAA Executive Director Jeff Collins. “Now it’s a recommendation, not the mandate.”
However, areas outside the courts, fields and tracks, students are still urged to wear masks.
Previously, the NHIAA — the governing body of high school athletics in the Granite State — had left it up to each member school to decide for itself if masks would be needed to compete, but recommended they be required for all sports including baseball, softball and tennis. Yes, tennis, too.
The only exceptions to mask wearing were in a few track events like hurdles, pole vault, shot put, discus and javelin, where face covering could be considered a safety hazard.
School districts may still mandate the rules and restrictions of their own home fields.
“When teams travel to other Districts for competition, all athletes and staff will follow the guidelines of the hosting fields related to masking,” ConVal superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders wrote in an email to the school community Monday.