Chillicothe City Schools Suspends Athletic Competitions & Extracurricular Activities Until January 5

Chillicothe City Schools have put a hold on activities until January 5, 2021.

In a statement from CCSD Superintendent Debbie Swinehart:

“District leaders continue to work closely with the Ross County Health District to assess the various risks facing our students and staff.

“Based on recommendations announced today for school athletics, we are suspending all athletic competitions and extracurricular activities, effective immediately until January 5, 2021.

“Unlike other local school districts, our teams often travel outside Ross County to compete. This puts our athletes and coaching staff at a greater risk of exposure and has the potential to further the spread of the virus across our communities.

“All official games and scrimmages will be postponed and rescheduled for a time when our teams can safely compete together. Practices and skills training in small groups will continue for current CCSD athletes, and our coaching staff will be strictly enforcing all screening and safety protocols, including temperature and symptom checks and increased sanitization of all athletic facilities.

“While this was a difficult decision to make, prioritizing health and safety must be our shared commitment for our school community.”

RCHD Commissioner Garrett Guillozet tells Litter Media he’s met with the superintendents of the county school districts with recommendations regarding school activities and that they come to a consensus. The other districts agreed to move forward with the limiting tickets to two family members per participant, no food concession service and an increase in mask wearing compliance.

Guillozet reaffirmed this was only a recommendation, not a health order.

In a statement made by the Ohio High School Athletic Association Wednesday afternoon “The decision for schools to move forward with sports is a local decision. Schools may certainly choose not to participate in a contest or to pause their season(s) for a period and should do what is in their best interest. The OHSAA believes that our member schools provide student-athletes with the safest possible environment to continue participating, and we all recognize the educational, physical and mental health benefits of participation.”

In a text conversation with Terri Tutt, the Commissioner the Frontier Athletic Conference in which Chillicothe participates, Tutt conveyed to Litter Media “The FAC is committed to giving a priority to league games.” At the time of our exchange, none of the other FAC members had changed their commitment to participating in their scheduled games.