Ohio high school sports rules on testing, spectators may change this week

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX/WTTE) — The spokesperson for Ohio's Department of Health said Monday that new word is coming this week on the health order governing testing and spectators at contact sporting events in Ohio.

The "Amended Third Order" on contact sports practices and competitions gained new attention over the weekend when ODH re-released the existing health order on sports, primarily only changing cross country to a "low contact" designation which allows runners to compete this fall. A new flurry of messages from peeved parents followed, some directed towards the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

"This has happened a few times before...for some people it's the first time they're hearing about it, for a variety of reasons," said OHSAA spokesman Tim Stried. "I think lot of people just might not have been aware of the testing requirement."

Spokesperson Melanie Amato at the Department of Health told ABC 6/FOX 28 on Monday that she had "nothing to add (on the order) other than the statement provided yesterday. There will be more information coming out about it this week."

OHSAA has been lobbying ODH for weeks to change the requirements for high school athletes in "high contact" sports this fall, which are football, soccer and field hockey. Currently, the health order on contact sports competitions requires that "a COVID-19 test must be administered to each athlete and team staff member...no more than 72 hours prior to the start of competition."

A negative test result must be in-hand before the game begins to allow that athlete to participate.

The order also says "spectators are not permitted in the venue/facility for any competitive contact sports."

Stried said Monday that the rules were first drafted for The Basketball Tournament, or TBT, which was a professional-level televised tournament based in Columbus last month. The order has not been significantly updated since then.

Stried acknowledged those rules will not be sustainable for hundreds of thousands of youth and high school athletes across Ohio.

"There are a lot of counties and communities in Ohio where testing is not readily available," he said, "and even where it is available, it's just not possible to get results back in three days."

Stried said the Association has been diligently working alongside ODH and Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted to come to an agreement about safely carrying out the football, soccer and field hockey seasons this fall.

Governor Mike DeWine told the Dayton Daily News on Monday that the current health order is "basically a placeholder."

“There was no change, and we’ll be coming out shortly with a decision about where we go in regards to sports in Ohio," DeWine told the News.

Stried said on Monday that all fall sports are now practicing across Ohio, which a few exceptions from school districts that have suspended extracurricular activities or discovered a positive COVID-19 case among their athletes.