Monday’s Phase III / Step 1 Guidelines issued by Massachusetts Governor Baker that covered the Re-Opening Standards for youth & adult amateur sports activities was actually a step backwards from the Phase II we have been in since June.

It came as a complete surprise to EVERYONE who has been involved in the process and the athletic community.

With the success of Phase II and the overall daily numbers being reported by the state of MA, everyone was expecting a Phase III to begin July 6th that would have allowed children to participate in league play and tournaments for multiple sports, with realistic social distancing and hygiene practices in place.

The document presented by the state is disappointing to say the least but the real issue is why and where do we go from here?

There is no timeline on how long Step 1 will be enforced. There is NO definition of what Step 2 will be or WHEN it will occur.

The committee that was advising the Governors office on Phase I and Phase II, that had representation from many different factions in the state, has effectively been disbanded with Monday’s announcement. Leaders in the business community, youth sports community and MIAA no longer have a voice via this committee. Their recommendations fell on deaf ears this past weekend.

The Department of Public Health led by Monica Bharel has taken over as advisory and administrator of all youth and high school athletics reporting into the governor and lieutenant governor and disbanded the advisory committee. The recommendations that have been presented do not take into account the impact of kids not being able to play, the economic impact on sports related business, and effectively have shut down all youth & high school sports on a competitive level until January 15th 2021.

The reality is the action related to this announcement has severely impacted all sports business in MA indefinitely. They actually made the entire situation worse, as thousands of youth sports players/teams are now traveling to neighboring states to take part in leagues and tournaments. By not allowing our kids to compete locally and stay in MA, they are now traveling out of state only to return to MA. This directly seems to defeat all that we have done here in MA to contain exposures and reduce infections.  

By signing this petition you agree that Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and their assembled committees need to reconsider their stance on return to competitive play for adults, youth and high school athletes. This petition is on behalf of all the families, athletes, coaches, sport facility employees and businesses who have been deeply affected by the governor's actions.