By — Taylor Byrne 

One of the greatest changes in school life has been the athletics department. At Tuscarora High School our Athletic Director Tony Tallent has taken every precaution to allow students to do what they love, safely. 

In the beginning of quarantine no one knew how dangerous Covid was going to become, least of all how long this danger would last. As time went on, it became more and more obvious that things weren’t going to be the same for a while. For students, along with the changes in education, one of the big questions they had was: What about sports?

After the two week break from school turned into year round distance learning, the athletic department immediately began working to change deadlines, rules, tryouts, games, and anything else you can think of.  Mr. Tallent couldn’t stress enough that things at the athletic department are constantly changing, as new information arises. 

One of the biggest challenges according to Tallent are the differences among sports. “The rules for softball are completely different from wrestling for example,” he explained, “this means that the safety guidelines for a safe match or game are completely different as well.” 

There are 120 pages of new rules and guidelines for sports at the highschool level that are constantly evolving to ensure the safety of everyone involved. 

Some of the precautions put in place that are constant throughout the department are social distancing, masks, and training staff how to properly disinfect all equipment. “We probably have gone through buckets of disinfectant, and that is no exaggeration!” exclaimed Tallent. 

Tony Tallent wants to assure Tuscarora students, staff, and parents that the athletic department is constantly evolving in order to keep everyone safe.