Although the high school winter sports season has been up in the air for a while, on Friday, November 13th  there was finally some new information. While information on specific rules and guidelines are limited, the EEA released new guidelines.

Basketball is one of the sports included in the high risk category, as well as wrestling and ice hockey. Joey Sabourin, a senior basketball player at Nashoba said, “We know this season is going to be a lot different than years past, but I think most of us are ready to follow whatever rules to get on the court.” One major tweak to the game is players must wear face masks at all times, even while playing. This will present players with a new challenge none of them have experienced before. 

Another change is the start date of the season for Central Mass schools. The season originally scheduled to start November 30th will now start December 14th in order to give schools time to get ready for the season. “ I am happy that I get two more weeks to get prepared for tryouts, but part of me just wants to get back on the court finally, after months of waiting,” Joey commented about the later season start. 

With the fate of the basketball season being unknown for so long, Joey said it was nice to finally hear something: “ We really haven’t known whether we’d be able to play at all and I think most people probably thought we wouldn’t be able to have a season, so just to hear that the plan is still to play was awesome news.” With so much uncertainty in many aspects of life, it is a relief for athletes who play in the winter to hear some much needed good news about their season.