Will there be High School Basketball this season in Eastern Connecticut? As of right now, YES! But, as we all know over the last year, that is always subject to change.
The CIAC has already approved a plan for winter sports, which is to include playing hoops, plus the Griswold Board of Education put their seal of approval on it as well, officially starting the season.
Griswold will have basketball tryouts on February 1, 2021. The first game is scheduled currently for February 12 against Killingly, Both boys and girls. The boys will travel to Killingly and the Lady Wolverines will host Killingly at GHS.
There is another change to the sport this year. The start times will be different than recent years. JV games will start at 4:30 and the Varsity contests to follow at approximately 6:00 PM.
Plainfield will also start practicing as well as having tryouts on 2/1/21. Currently, there is no Griswold vs. Plainfield contest on the schedule. Plainfield’s first game will be against Windham, also on 2/12/21.
Another unique feature/change of the schedule for Winter 2021 is that if your school’s Girls team is playing at home, the boys will play the same school but only at their home facility.
Basketball will have a scaled down 10 game season instead of the regularly scheduled 20, not including post season contests.
Griswold is not only hosting basketball, but Co-ed Fencing as well. Fencing teams will compete on Saturday’s starting on Saturday, February 13, 2021. Opening day will feature Griswold hosting East Lyme.
Here are the guidelines for the winter sports season. Please keep in mind that these contests are all subject to change due to the pandemic.
· Number of athletes allowed to travel/participate per game (home & away): Maximum 24 (Varsity/JV or 12 per team on the bench per game).
· Number of athletes allowed to travel/participate per game (home & away): Maximum 12 athletes, 2 coaches and 1 scorekeeper (15 total people) (Freshman).
· For contact tracing purposes, each visiting team will provide a list of essential game personnel, including student-athletes, up to 3 certified coaches, a videographer and scorekeeper (29 total people) (Varsity/JV).
· No spectators will be permitted at indoor contests.
· Temperature checks will be conducted by both teams prior to competition. The away team must do this before leaving their school to travel to venue. (100.4)
· Team benches will be on the opposite ends of the gym. All bench areas will be properly distanced no less than 6 ft apart. Check-ins will occur at half court on each team’s respective side of the gym. (Check-In “Xs” will be clearly marked)
· Locker rooms will NOT be provided to the visiting team. Athletes and officials should arrive ready to compete.
· Face masks will be worn by players, officials, coaches and game personnel at all times, including during game play.
· The scorer’s table will be utilized by the clock operator and the official scorer only and they should adhere to social distancing. All players, coaches, officials and table personnel should wash/or sanitize hands prior to touching any books or game equipment. The table will be sanitized before each game, at halftime, after the JV game, etc.
· Statistics will also be kept on each teams bench by rostered players (if desired).
· Hydration Stations and Medical Supplies will be the responsibility of both programs. The visiting team must bring their own supplies including Basketballs, Medical Kit and Water.
· Officials will bounce the ball to players from a minimum of 6 feet away. There will be no handing the ball to the player.
Warm-Ups Spacing (Pre-Game/Halftime) – Both teams must socially distance themselves at least 6 ft from the midline.
Game ball that has already been sanitized by the host school will be kept at the scorer’s table and not used for warm-ups. Given to officials prior to start of game – per CIAC
The host school must ensure that the game ball is sanitized during time outs and between quarters. The host school also has the option of having multiple game balls, already cleaned, at the table.
Home team will provide 2 hand sanitizer bottles (one for home team usage, one for away team usage) at mid court for players to utilize before checking in.
Each school needs to have a designated seating plan to provide optimum safety for all athletes and essential personnel
Home Athletic Trainer can access both team’s medical needs per the request of each coaching staff and officials.
No Handshake lines at the conclusion of the contest.
Officials Meeting at the start of the contest will be one coach from each team, plus the lead official (In masks).
Halftime will be seven minutes in length (due to no locker room access)
It is recommended that each school provide multiple areas for safe and appropriate mask breaks (refer to CIAC document)