MPA Cancels Wrestling Season
In an email to schools, Mike Bisson, the Executive Director of the Maine Principal s Association said
It is with deep regret that I inform you of the cancellation of a competitive wrestling season for the 2020-2021 school year. The MPA Wrestling Committee met this morning and reviewed our current status. Prior to the season we developed guidelines that we hoped would allow for a competitive season in the safest possible manner. The committee did this knowing that the Maine DECD Community Sports Guidelines only allowed for physically distanced skills and drills at Level 2 of the high risk activity. At the time we were hopeful that after the holiday surge of potential Covid-19 cases things would open up and those guidelines might be revisited. We were encouraged when the NFHS removed their leveling of risk as it pertained to school-based activities. To date there has been no change in the Community Sports Guidelines and we have no indication that they
Maine’s high school wrestling season officially canceled
The Maine Principals Association will allow wrestlers to continue conditioning workouts with coaches for the next two weeks, but there will be no competitions.
The Maine Principals’ Association officially canceled the high school wrestling season on Friday.
There had been only a small glimmer of hope that a wrestling season – already delayed on multiple occasions – could be held if the state revised its Community Sport Guidelines and moved wrestling out of the high-risk category for spread of the coronavirus, or did away with the risk categories completely.
High-risk sports, which include tackle football and boxing, can only hold socially distant conditioning practices, without any full contact drills. No competitions are allowed.
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High school wrestlers in Maine bitter about lost opportunities
The vast majority of states are offering interscholastic wrestling this winter, but Maine wrestlers cannot even scrimmage against teammates during practices because of pandemic safety precautions.
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Since his freshman year, Noble High’s Josh Cote had set a goal of becoming the first four-time state champion in the school’s historic program. Now a senior, he won’t get the chance because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
Were it not for the coronavirus pandemic, Noble High senior Josh Cote would have had the chance to become the first four-time state champion in the school’s distinguished wrestling history. Instead, he’s annoyed and frustrated by the state’s unwillingness to try to put together a wrestling season – especially because a few miles from the North Berwick school, the wrestling season is already underway.
Decision on Maine high school wrestling season delayed
The MPA Wrestling Committee decides to wait until its Feb. 22 meeting to make a final decision on whether a competitive season can be held during the pandemic.
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“Is this a false sense of hope?” Noble wrestling coach Kevin Gray asks of another delay to the season. “And, there’s so many other avenues open right now. It’s hard to tell kids, ‘Hey, be hopeful for a season’ that at best is only going to be a couple of dual meets.”
Jill Brady/Staff Photographer
The start of the Maine high school wrestling season has been delayed again.