Dear Westport Community,

Staples Football needs your support! This past week our student-athletes were notified that their already shortened fall football season would proceed as planned, only to be told a few days later that it was on hold and maybe postponed to the Spring or cancelled altogether. This decision is not only devastating to these young athletes, but may also affect other spring sports.  Please review the points below which supports our belief that football can happen safely this fall for our players.

1) Westport and CT Covid cases have remained exceptionally low over multiple months; according to CT state guidelines, schools should open, including sports.

2) Club sport teams (e.g., LAX, Ice hockey and baseball) have competed in and out of state this summer with no material change to CT Covid metrics. Many of our football players participated in these competitions as well as our football workouts, concurrently, with no known cases in our football run programs.

3) Staples Coaches and trainers have implemented and enforced strict safety protocols for their players. These protocols, listed below, exceed and surpass the safety measures put in place by club sports this summer. Examples include:

- Temperature checks and a daily health questionnaire is required by each player before they can come onto the field.

- Every player enters and exits the stadium wearing a mask.

- Stations were created for athletes to be in cohorts for weight training.  

- Equipment wiped down in between groups by coaches.

- No huddles or sharing from water bottles and when they meet together as a team the players are spread 6’ apart across the field. (And if you have been to a session then you know that the words “SIX FEET APART!!!” is the most frequently uttered phrase.)

- No parents on the field

4) Staples football players have successfully participated in CIAC approved conditioning since early July without any cases reported.  

5) Physical activity and socialization for teenage children is necessary, and football provides this important outlet as well as structure and supervision for our student-athletes.  Without football, we fear an increase in a number of health issues, with an emphasis on the kids mental health.  

6) Further, we expect that unstructured and unsupervised activities that take the place of football, if cancelled or deferred, may lead to further spread of Covid-19.  

7) There will be scheduling complications associated with pushing football to the Spring, requiring the shortening of other Winter and Spring sports, consequently impacting  Spring sports two years in a row. Dual sport athletes may be forced to select one sport over the other, serving only as a disservice to the kids once again. 
 

Please support this petition to help the Staples High School Football team be heard with their request to support a fall season as was planned and approved by the CIAC only a few short days ago. Our players have worked hard this summer and they are excited  to play!!  Staples High school football deserves a chance to play a fall season, while following the prescribed safety protocols that have been working all summer! Thank you for your support! Please send to others you may know to support Staples Football.