We are writing to ask that you reinstate indoor volleyball as an orange tier sport in the state of California.  Indoor volleyball was downgraded from orange tier to a "moderate impact yellow tier sport" as part of the CDPH revised "Outdoor and Indoor Youth and Recreational Adult Sports" guidance released on 2/19/21.

Indoor volleyball can be played safely indoors.  Players are able to compete while wearing masks for the entire game and the amount of contact in the sport is extremely minimal.  Indoor volleyball has been played in states across this country without evidence of transmission of Covid-19.  Women’s volleyball is currently being played in California at the collegiate level.  

We all know that Covid-19 has had a devastating affect on the mental health of teenagers.  The National Federation of High School Associations maintains an exhaustive list of the benefits of participating in school-based activities here. Among the findings on this site are the following:

• “athletes earned higher grades, graduated at a higher rate, dropped out of school less frequently, and scored higher on state assessments than did non-athletes;”
• “sports participation promotes identification with school and school related values, such as doing well academically; pro-educational social norms among teammates and coaches; and academic requirements for participation;” 
• “school extracurricular activities were positively associated with adolescents’ friendships, both supporting existing friendships and developing new ones.”

This change disproportionately affects girls, as high school volleyball is the second most popular sport played by girls.  According to the 2019-2020 CIF Sports Participation Survey, 46,495 girls participated in high school athletics during the fall 2019 season. This same survey shows 23,556 high school boys played in 2020 (until their seasons were canceled). In moving indoor volleyball to the yellow tier, the state of California has effectively benched 70,051 high school student athletes.  

Please, reconsider this unnecessary change and reinstate indoor volleyball as an orange tier sport.