Athletics are extremely important to nearly all of D.C.’s youth. The D.C. area is full of high school athletes for whom sports can be life-changing. Athletics provide many with invaluable opportunities and structure. Sports provide a way out to many of  DC’s underprivileged athletes, whether as a way to escape difficult home situations or to receive college educations that would be unattainable otherwise. Taking away even a season of sports can be detrimental to many who rely on sports for these opportunities, particularly during high school, a stressful time for all students and an ultra important period for athletic development and recruitment.

Team sports in the District of Columbia have been banned for the previous 10 months due to Covid-19 concerns. Athletes in D.C. have respectfully adhered to Mayor Bowser’s orders, recognizing the severity of the situation. It is time, however, to rescind this order. With the initial stages of Covid-19 vaccine distribution underway, the future as it pertains to the pandemic looks brighter than it does bleak. Northern Virginia schools have participated in interscholastic athletics for weeks and Montgomery County is set to begin in the coming weeks as well. States throughout the nation have successfully held athletic competitions since the beginning of the academic year, showing a low risk for transmission during competition. Middle school sports have been allowed in D.C, so clearly the mayor’s office somewhat acknowledges this low risk for transmission, and quite nonsensical to bar high-school athletes, some of whom will not play their designated sport again, from representing their school in an athletic setting. Additionally, indoor dining has been proven to be one of the most efficient spreaders of Covid-19, significantly more dangerous than athletic competition; however, indoor dining in D.C. continues to be allowed while athletics are not. 

It is both painful and illogical to continue to prevent D.C. athletes from participating in athletics while most other kids in our country can, especially in an area with so many passionate and driven athletes.  Measures can be taken to limit the spread of Covid-19 during competition and practice without banning it altogether, so we ask D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to allow a swift and safe resumption of high school athletics in the District of Columbia.