In letter, Godwin Athletic Association seeks reinstatement of winter sports
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The Mills Godwin High School Athletic Association is asking Henrico Superintendent Amy Cashwell and the Henrico School Board to reverse the decision to cancel winter sports.
In a letter dated Dec. 9, association members wrote of their “extreme disappointment” about the decision and “the manner in which HCPS made that decision.
“The decision to cancel Winter Sports was made at the last minute without any input from the Board, Staff, Parents or Students,” according to the letter, which was signed only by the Godwin Athletic Association Board of Directors.
“Further, despite the County’s assertion to the contrary, we understand the Athletic Directors of the nine (9) Henrico County High Schools also did not have a say in this decision. It is inconceivable that those HCPS employees with the most knowledge about County athletics were excluded from such a consequential decision.”
The officials asked Cashwell and board members to reconsider the decision immediately, suggesting that since many other school districts in the state are doing so, Henrico can do so safely as well.
The letter’s authors also claimed that recreational sports have been played “without incident in Central Virginia since June – including multiple indoor activities, like basketball.”
A number of cases of COVID have been reported in various local recreational leagues during the pandemic, though no widespread transmission specific to those leagues has been documented.
Henrico Schools spokesman Andy Jenks disputed the claim made by the organization that student activities directors at the county's high schools hadn't been consulted about the decision in advance.
"While we share in the collective disappointment surrounding our approach to winter athletics, we feel the letter unfairly diminishes the extent to which we sought input from our directors of student activities," he told the Citizen. "Of course we sought input from our nine school-based DSA’s who contributed important perspective that was then considered by HCPS leadership. We also sought advice from HCPS School Health Services experts (school nurses), as well as state and local health officials."
The Godwin Athletic Association board's letter suggested that winter sports activities aren't the source of virus spread and that the county's decision to cancel them could have other "dangerous and negative mental ramifications" for student-athletes.
“If this is a financial decision, then organizations like GAA and families should be given the opportunity to address that before stripping yet another irreplaceable activity from our student-athletes’ lives,” the board of directors wrote. “While we as parents always want to watch our children play, we are more than willing to forgo that and make any other sacrifices to salvage their Winter Season.”
The 40-member GAA board, currently with 15 open positions, is led by president Allison Unowitz, according to its website.
About 32% of students at Godwin High School indicated in a school system survey last month that they would be returning to school in person in February, when secondary students tentatively are scheduled to be permitted back in the classroom. That was the second-highest percentage among students at Henrico high schools, trailing Freeman High (47%).
Rally planned at Thursday's School Board meeting
A separate rally by student-athletes in Henrico was planned for 3:30 p.m. outside the New Bridge Auditorium, the site of a School Board meeting. Details about the event circulating on social media encouraged students to wear green, or their school's athletic apparel, in an attempt to save their seasons.
Freeman High School senior basketball player Omari DeVeaux collected more than 2,000 signatures on an online petition seeking to convince officials in Henrico and Richmond to allow winter sports to continue. DeVeaux wrote that he was hopeful that he and other athletes who want to pursue their sports at higher levels – particularly those like him who are seniors – will find it harder to do so without the opportunity to play this year.
"Just think about all the seniors that are counting on this year to make a big impact to possibly get into their dream college for sports," he wrote. "Also, what about those seniors that miss out on their senior night? What about those friendships that last a lifetime from having teammates? What about having a great connection with your community? This is what sports is all about and cancelling them will have a huge impact on everyone."
