Port Byron's new track is shown as two softball players practice on the field. Port Byron's athletic fields renovation is complete, but student-athletes have been unable to utilize them due to the school district's COVID-19-related sports opt outs.
As most schools in Cayuga County have returned to athletic competition in recent months, one school district has waited patiently for the opportune moment.
Port Byron has not offered interscholastic sports so far during the 2020-21 school year. The district has cited athletics to be counterintuitive to its current academic model, a pod system that keeps students within the same grouping for each class to limit the potential spread of COVID-19.
When low- and moderate-risk sports like cross country and soccer started in the fall, Port Byron passed. When high-risk sports like basketball were approved and began in Feburary, Port Byron again said no thanks. And when a second opportunity for fall sports was offered as part of the fall II season that began in March, Port Byron has again chosen to sit out.
In Port Byron, 2020-21 might as well be known as the "Year Without Sports." The Panthers have not hit the field or the gym, at least in an official capacity, since the basketball teams wrapped up their seasons in March 2020.
Leading up to the 2020-21 academic year, administrators collaborated on the best way to approach education. Kim Brown, the assistant principal and athletic director at Dana West High School in Port Byron, said it was of "utmost importance" that students be given the opportunity to attend class in person five days a week. That ultimately is why the school district settled on its pod system.
Participating in athletics was a potential disruptor to that system, and a risk that administrators and the board of education discussed, and chose not to take.
"I think we believed then and we believe now the model we put in place was by far the safest," Brown told The Citizen. "Once we decided that was the best model to move forward with, then we started to think of the athletic component. If we were doing our best to keep kids in pods, in terms of safety, that is completely opposite of what would happen with the athletic piece."
Port Byron's athletic situation is also complicated by its merger with the Union Springs School District. Several fall sports, like cross country (boys and girls), football, and soccer (boys and girls) are combined between the two schools. Exposing student-athletes in a pod at Port Byron to those in another school district was another factor that Brown said would be "counterproductive."
When Union Springs chose to participate in fall II in several sports that are typically merged, it did so with the knowledge that Port Byron students would not take part. Bowling, another merged sport that competes in the winter and is hosted by Union Springs, didn't participate this past season due to lack of interest.
Brown acknowledged that the absence of athletic competition in Port Byron has been difficult for many student-athletes and those who participate in other extracurricular activities. He's had an open-door policy for any student that's wanted to express their agreement or frustration.
"The kids understand why the decision was made. I was very upfront with them, and said ‘These are the reasons, and I need you to understand that the decision was not taken lightly.’ It wasn’t one of those things that we spend two minutes on a Zoom call or two minutes on the phone," Brown said. "Are kids disappointed that there are not athletics? Absolutely they are. It's one of the major driving forces that's in their lives right now. They absolutely wanted to participate. Our kids were cognizant too of where we were health-wise and understanding the position where this has never been dealt with before."
There is good news on the horizon for the student-athletes at Port Byron. The district intends to participate in spring sports, which are scheduled to begin later this month. Offerings will include baseball, softball, and track and field.
When those spring sports finally begin, it will mark a momentous time for the school district that has long-awaited the debut of its new fields. In 2016, a $13 million capital project was approved that would see the school district add a turf football field, an eight-lane track, and new baseball and softball fields.
Completed during the first stage of the renovation, the new football field hosted its first game during the 2018 fall season. However, the baseball and softball fields were not completed in time for the 2019 spring season and then the 2020 seasons were wiped out by COVID-19.
For the baseball program, a new field won't be the only change. While the Port Byron-Union Springs merger is expected to reconvene for the 2021-22 academic year in most sports, the baseball programs will operate separately this season and in the future.
That's because of IAC decision from Section IV that in 2018 ruled the Port Byron-Union Springs program was in violation of a bylaw that required all levels of the program to be hosted by the same school. Since 2014, Union Springs hosted the varsity baseball team while Port Byron was home to the JV.
The schools were allowed a three-year grace period that was set to end this spring. Port Byron hosted the varsity team in 2019 and the 2020 season was canceled.
"(Union Springs athletic director Todd Salls) and I have had conversations. Can we both field a varsity team? Can we both field a modified team? Numbers were to a point this year that we both know we can field those teams," Brown said. "Once we were able to verify those numbers were solid, we chose to end that merger for baseball officially.
"Our plan is to still continue with the other mergers moving forward. That's going to be based on where we're at with the positive cases and vaccine rollouts. I'd love to sit here and say we'll have the opportunity to do it. That's our hope and that's our intention."
Sports reporter Justin Ritzel can be reached at 282-2257 or at justin.ritzel@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenRitz.
"port" - Google News
April 04, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Over a year without sports, Port Byron ready to resume athletics this spring - Auburn Citizen
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