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State health department says schools sports can resume under personal training guidelines

Posted at 6:22 PM, May 27, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-27 20:48:13-04

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BOULDER -- It's been months since students in Boulder County have been able to participate in team sports.

Charles Olson, who has two daughters at Lyons Middle and Senior High School, says them returning to sports isn't more frightening than them going back to school in the fall.

"If they adhere to certain guidelines and practices, I think they'll be safe," Olson said. "Both of my children are involved in low-contact sports, and maybe that's why I see things through a different lens."

Track coach and teacher at the middle and senior high school, Mark Roberts, says the return of school sports is a necessary outlet for students.

"We want what is best for our kids," Roberts said. "We recognize that kids need to spend some time together, that parents need to have an understanding that if they let their kid go out of the house, there's a safe place for them to go."

But when his school district first proposed a plan for sports to return June 1, it was denied by Boulder County Public Health officials.

"I thought initially that maybe Boulder County Health was just being a little unreasonable, but as I've really read through the safer at home information, I just see where they're coming from. I see the ambiguity," Roberts said.

The uncertainty was also felt by Boulder County Public Health. They say the state's guidelines weren't clear cut.

After a meeting between county and state health officials, the decision was made to allow sports teams and school sports to resume under the personal training guidelines.

Boulder County Public Health says this means four people, including a trainer, can work out indoors or 10 people with a trainer outdoors.

The state will also allow 25 people to participate in state-licensed outdoor camps.