WA High School Pauses Use of COVID-19 Monitor for Athletes

August 26, 2021 / Athletic AdministrationCoaching
A Washington school district is pausing the use of COVID-related tracking monitor for student-athletes and further discussions on the devices will happen, according to a report from the News Tribune.

Earlier this week, parents, teachers, and students showed up to an Eatonville High School board meeting to voice their concerns about the tactics while others applauded the decision. People, according to the News Tribune, gathered in the bleachers of the school’s athletic stadium with t-shirts that read, “Unmask Our Children.”

monitorThe tracking monitors on student-athletes will be shelved, for now, Matt Marshall, school board member, said at the meeting. The high school’s football team, along with their parents and coaches, will meet Thursday to discuss the future of the monitors. Meetings for other sports are still to be determined, Marshall added.

This meeting following a statement released from the school district leaders earlier in the week that stated monitors were being used for high and moderate contact indoor sports, like volleyball, basketball, wrestling, football, and soccer, the News Tribune reported.

“The monitors are for both staff (coaches) and students on the field, regardless if they are vaccinated or unvaccinated,” the statement said. “If a student or coach tests positive, we will have immediate information regarding athletes’ and coaches’ contacts, so we can more tightly determine who might need to quarantine.”

The school district said parents were told through an invitation to a parent meeting, communication from coaches, and a parent consent form, the News Tribune reported.

» ALSO SEE: MIAA Mandates Masks Indoors, Outdoors Optional

The devices are worn on the wrist by most athletes, the News Tribune reported, as opposed to an ankle monitor.

“If you want to use it for your child so they can play sports, right on,” Nicole Hadman, a parent in Eatonville, said at the board meeting. “I don’t want my kid using it.”’

To read the full story from the News Tribune about the story, click here