PA Recommends No Youth Sports Until 2021 Due To Pandemic

HARRISBURG, PA — Gov. Tom Wolf said his administration is recommending there be no school and recreational youth sports until January due to the ongoing pandemic.

"The administration is providing this strong recommendation and not an order or mandate," Wolf said. He added: "school administrators and locally elected school boards should make decisions on sports."

Speaking during a Thursday news conference that was to be an overview about the status of testing in the state, Wolf responded to the final question about spectators being prohibited from attending high school sports.

"The guidance is that we ought to avoid any congregate settings, and that means anything that brings people together is going to help that virus get us," Wolf said. "Anytime we get together for any reason, that's a problem."

The recommendation from his administration, he said, "is that we don't do any sports until January 1st."

His comments, which reflected a break from the standing guidance on sports issued in June, shocked many. In a statement following the press conference, Wolf clarified the guidance would be updated to reflect his "strong recommendation."

The recommendation applies to school and non-school recreational youth sports, including competitions, intramural play, and scrimmages. It does not apply to collegiate and professional sports.

Last week, the PIAA Board of Directors approved guidelines for schools to follow as they return to competitive sports during the pandemic.

Among the PIAA guidance was that spectators should not be permitted to attend games. The recommendation drew uproar from some parents, and prompted a further response from the PIAA.

In a July 30 statement, the PIAA said the restriction on spectators "is not a PIAA decision. PIAA is following the sports guidance put out by the Wolf Administration."

This article originally appeared on the Newtown Patch