George School Shares Plans for Winter Athletics Season

George School is finalizing plans for the winter athletics season with practices scheduled to start Monday, January 25, 2021. “The season will not be a normal one,” said Kurt Ruch, Director of Athletics and Recreation. “We are adjusting time frames, locations, and schedules to fit our facilities and meet our new protocols. We are setting expectations that need to be followed closely for the safety of everyone involved.”

The new guidelines follow all mandates set by the National Federation of High Schools, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Bucks County and Pennsylvania Departments of Health. “Using these protocols, we feel we are prepared to move forward with an abbreviated winter season,” said Kurt. “We ask our community to read through the plan closely.”

Guidelines for Winter Sports

• George School will compete only in varsity level sports for the winter season. Students who do not make a varsity team will be able to train under the supervision of George School coaches.
• All winter sports and teams will be tested weekly. Any student who makes a varsity team is expected to test each week. If students miss a test date, they will not be permitted to participate during that week’s practices or games. A student must pass the weekly test. If any student shows a positive test result, they will be moved to quarantine procedures and will not be able to return to the team until they are cleared by the George School Student Health and Wellness Center.
• Because George School will use pooled saliva testing, the varsity teams will be permitted to mix boarding and day students. Sub-varsity or non-competition sports will not be allowed to mix boarding and day students.
• George School will only compete against schools that perform and share testing results for their athletes each week. If a school does not follow a similar testing protocol, George School will not play them. If necessary, George School will look for additional games against schools that test and share similar procedures.
• All students, coaches, and Athletic Department personnel are expected to wear masks during all practices, training sessions, and competitions. There are no exceptions. No one is permitted to participate without a mask. During competitions, George School will provide disposable masks for each member of the team. During practices and training sessions, participants need to bring their own masks.
• Students are expected to clean their uniform, singlet, or suit after they are distributed to the varsity teams. Laundry service will not be provided throughout the winter season.

Winter Athletics Offered this Season
These varsity teams will compete against other schools during the Winter 2021 season:

• Varsity Boys’ Basketball
• Varsity Girls’ Basketball
• Varsity Boys’ Swimming
• Varsity Girls’ Swimming
• Varsity Equestrian
• Varsity Wrestling

The following teams will only train during the winter season. They will not compete against other schools.

• Sub-Varsity Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball
• Cheer
• Winter Track

Schedules for Practices and Competitions
The winter athletics teams will begin training on Monday, January 25. Games and competitions will not begin before Friday, February 5. Currently, the Friends Schools League plans to begin competition on or around Friday, February 12. Specific team schedules will be shared as soon as they are completed.

Attending Games

At this point, visitors will not be permitted at any competition or training sessions–home or away. The safety of everyone takes first priority. To help families and supporters view the competitions, George School will live stream the events and links will be shared as soon as schedules are confirmed. The live stream details will be shared with the community through email and social media.

Additional information can be found on our Winter Athletics Season 2021 webpage.