Haverhill will have school sports this fall, albeit on a significantly reduced level and, perhaps, not on a schedule one would expect.
Haverhill Public Schools Director of Athletics Thomas O’Brien told the School Committee last Thursday the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has identified school sports as being either low, moderate or high risk and, as a result, created four seasons for sports this year: fall one, winter, fall two and spring.
“Fall one will run from Sept. 18 through Nov. 20. Our winter season will go from Nov. 30 to Feb. 21, I think. Then that, sort of, wedge fall season will be from February through the end of April and our spring sports will run in May and June,” he said.
O’Brien said the fall one sports will include ones that have minimal contact.
“So, our other fall sports that we would like to run are cross country, golf, boys and girls soccer, field hockey, girls volleyball and girls swimming,” he said.
O’Brien said the three sports that are being moved into the fall two season are football, cheerleading and unified basketball.
He also explained the scheduling will be different this year in that the teams will only play one other community each week in each sport in order to minimize contact with others.
In a related matter, O’Brien asked the Committee vote to resume renting out the high school’s Charles C. White Pool now that the state is allowing limited usage of public pools. Solo Aquatics has been renting the pool for the past 14 years. Members were not so enthusiastic, however, questioning health and liability issues. As a result, they voted to send the proposal to the Athletic Subcommittee for study.
The pool roof was replaced in June at a cost of $640,000. Haverhill officials noted then, that since the high school one of the few schools with a pool in the area, many improvements pay for themselves with rentals.
Roof repairs at the Charles C. White Pool at Haverhill High School in June 2020. (Courtesy photograph.)