A local lacrosse club on Monday defended its decision to travel to New Jersey on July 12 for two games.
Queensbury Superintendent of Schools Kyle Gannon was among about 100 parents who attended the games. Gannon confirmed on Monday that he was acting in his capacity as a father — not related to his official school duties.
Ten Warren County girls participated in the tournament. A girl from Albany County had tested positive for COVID-19, which she contracted before traveling on the trip.
State guidelines say that women’s lacrosse participants can take part in “all types of play except competitive tournaments requiring travel.”
In response to an inquiry from The Post-Star, ADK Lacrosse said New Jersey was not on the list of states that New York had restricted travel to and from. All players were encouraged to ride with their own family.
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They were there a few hours, participated in two scrimmages and then returned home.
The club made the schedule and decisions about holding the events — not the parents or players.
“We attempted to exercise safety, good judgment and common sense in pursuing opportunities for young athletes to rekindle their passion for sports,” the statement read.
The statement went on to say that to date, COVID-19 test results of players have been negative and very few players had close contact with the positive player.
“However, we truly apologize and regret that traveling out of state may have or did violate state guidelines. Our intent was to provide young adults with an outlet to pursue their passion,” the statement continued. “We are certainly conscientious of public safety goals and hope that these goals can be reached while still affording young athletes the opportunity to grow and prosper, regardless of sport.”
Gannon said he and his wife had a lot of discussions about whether to go on the trip — much like the other families. They determined it was safe.
“New Jersey was not a hot spot. It was not on the list of mandatory quarantine states set forth by the governor. I was under the impression that it was allowable,” he said.
“We truly did not know. I would never knowingly do something that I knew was not following the rules,” he added.
Gannon said people wore their masks and followed social distancing. The spectators sat in designated areas in the stands that were spaced apart.
Gannon said his family has been fully cooperative with Warren County Public Health officials throughout this process.
His daughter has tested negative for the virus, Gannon said.
“We’re still keeping her home throughout the full 14 days to keep her protected,” he said.
Gannon said he is not quarantined because he did not have any connect.
Gannon reiterated that he did not intend to violate any rules.
“I’ve got two daughters that I’m trying to protect as a dad and I would never knowingly do the wrong thing,” he said.
County officials have said they have been dealing with teams that have been traveling out of the area for competitions.
Warren County Administrator Ryan Moore said Monday that even though the guidelines say that tournaments are prohibited, he had clarified with the state that teams and players from within a region can compete within their region — as well as the contiguous counties.
Warren County is part of the Capital Region, which also includes Washington, Saratoga, Rensselaer, Albany, Columbia, Greene and Schenectady counties. The adjacent counties are Essex, Hamilton, Fulton, Montgomery, Schoharie, Delaware, Ulster and Dutchess.
Mask and face coverings are required during games when competitors are unable to stay 6 feet away from each other, with exceptions for those who cannot physically tolerate them.
Complying with these guidelines was a softball tournament that took place in Niskayuna this past weekend.
The Glens Falls Titans participated, according to its Facebook page.
Jesse Lyons, tournament coordinator, said 12 teams competed. The tournament was structured in such a way to have only four teams on the site at any one time. They had plenty of room to spread out.
Lyons said they had their plans approved by Niskayuna town officials and consulted with state officials.
They had to remove some teams from western New York and other places in the state from the tournament field because they were from too far away.
They also limited dugouts for coaches only and the entire first and third base lines were roped off and set aside for players only. Spectators were limited, according to Lyons
People wore masks when they came in close contact, he said. No concessions were sold.
Players did not wear masks when they were competing. Lyons said it is not difficult to practice social distancing playing baseball and softball. There’s not much contact. The umpires wear masks.
“This seems to be the way it’s working for local tournaments, for local games in general,” he said.
Lyons said the tournament went really well. Everybody was so happy to be able to participate in sports, that they were extremely cooperative.
Reach Michael Goot at 518-742-3320 or mgoot@poststar.com and follow his blog poststar.com/blogs/michael_goot/.