On Tuesday afternoon, Gov Jared Polis notified Colorado that fall sports can resume for as long as the school districts are ready to go. This is the best thing a student athlete could hope for, as many were upset with the original plan to move fall sports to the spring. 

Polis established that Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) are clear to vote on a new schedule that would fit fall sports like football and volleyball into the fall season. “If their board moves forward and wants to propose a fall season for CHSAA football, we would be thrilled to work with them to make that happen for the districts that are ready to go,” Polis said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Early this week, CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green released a statement saying, “In recent weeks, we have seen reconsideration at the Association, school district and conference level regarding the resuming fall sports, especially football.” 

The possibility of Fall sports making a comeback excites many athletes. Football player Morgan Tribbett (23) says, “I miss those fall Friday night lights and I think it’d be best for CHSAA to change our season back to October.” As with many other student athletes, Tribbet’s high school sports experience is worth far too much to be cancelled and changed. 

Football wouldn’t be the only sport coming back in October. Along with field hockey, gymnastics, and boys soccer, volleyball will also be making a return. Volleyball player Jocelyn Contreras (23) says, “I wish I could be playing right now as does every other person in fall sports.” Covid definitely hasn’t stopped any athlete’s desire to play right now, but it does have some worried. “I also understand the chaos that would break loose if sports actually did open in October,” Contreras added.

If the sports do end up returning, athletes, coaches, and spectators can expect to take many precautionary measures in order to prevent the spread of Covid. This includes, but is not limited to, wearing masks, social distancing, limited amounts of people at events, and temperature taking before practices. This may seem inconvenient and frustrating compared to a normal season, but CHSAA is keen on prioritizing athletes’ health over all else.

In order for this all to work out, CHSAA’s board of directors would have to vote on reconsidering the fall season. The state of Colorado already gave CHSAA permission to vote on this topic, so if they do vote on bringing back sports, Colorado would be the 35th state to do so. 

If the vote does not go through, then fall sports would still be scheduled for early spring. Many students were upset with CHSAA’s original ruling. “They need to ask what the students want because this is our season and we should be their best interest,” Tribbett says.

In Eaton, not only are sports an activity, but they are part of a tradition as well, and the possibility of it coming back is exciting for both players and the community.