Just like they did a few months ago before the fall high school sports season, the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference athletic directors voted on moving ahead with winter sports this year. The EPC announced a modified schedule for competition last week, similar to the format of the fall.

In basketball, swimming and wrestling, Emmaus will play an all-Lehigh County league schedule against Allen, Dieruff, Central Catholic, Parkland and Whitehall.

“Feedback from the health network providers we received was in favor of playing winter sports,” said Emmaus High School Athletic Director Rebecca George. “Time lines differed, but the consensus was to still play so long as the appropriate mitigation was in place and followed. The success of the fall seasons related to COVID cases and minimal spread among the athletic programs helped in the decision.”

It makes it all even more rewarding for the Emmaus community with a numerous amount of fall sports teams finding success, including the District 11 champion boys soccer and girls cross country teams and the state champion field hockey team.

“I feel extremely grateful for the opportunities the fall student-athletes had been given,” George said. “The amount of genuinely positive feedback that I have received from coaching staffs, the community, the parents, and the student-athletes themselves has been overwhelming. Remembering back to the summer months when the question of if there would even be a fall season was before us, moved into yes, we will have a modified season.

“The amount of effort by the administration, training staffs and the coaching staffs is a success story in itself, and now, to have the type of success on the playing surfaces this fall made it all that much more rewarding. Not to mention the attention and the fight against the COVID virus to keep it away from the athletic programs was again another victory for all involved. A lot of sacrifices were made and annual routines altered, keeping the best interest regarding the health and safety in hand.”

Some conversations have been different this time because winter sports are all played indoors. The two main topics were fan attendance and the type or amount of competitions that can take place.

“Given the current status I would find it hard to justify having spectators permitted in the venues during competitions,” said George. “The community spread and number of cases at this time differ greatly from the conversations we were having for the fall season. Other items like roster numbers limited, cancellations of wrestling tournaments and basketball tournaments, competitions being largely against other schools ‘in-county’ with some exceptions, practice adjustments which would limit the number of people in the gyms at one time, virtual matches for rifle, and a possibility of having swim meets at the school’s facility.”

Other than a few schools have to cancel and postpone games during the fall, the season went as well as anyone could have hoped so the league will stick with the same type of plan for winter.

“Yes, it was successful so the idea is to stick with that similar scheduling plan,” George said. “Keep in mind too that what is happening in one county might not be happening in another. We saw this over the late spring and summer when some counties were in green while others were still in red or yellow.”

Decisions on league and district tournaments have not yet been determined. In fall, the EPC did not hold postseason league competitions.

The first date of EPC winter sports competition is set for Tuesday, December 15.