High school teams in Rockland County, N.Y., will postpone some sports activities and rework game schedules to accommodate for today's total solar eclipse.
According to lohud.com, the moon will begin to cast a shadow at 2:11 p.m. Monday and leave the region in near darkness at 3:26 p.m., which is about the same time student-athletes typically head outside and loosen up for practices or games. Viewing the event requires specialty glasses, which creates a safety issue.
“We have been planning so our schedules already reflect the eclipse,” Yorktown athletic director Rob Barrett told lohud.com. “We are not practicing between 2:15 and 4:30 p.m.”
Depending on location, the eclipse will end around 4:36 p.m.
Some contests will start around 4:30 and 4:45, while other varsity games will wait until 5:00 p.m. to get started.
“We’ve been planning for three or four months,” Briarcliff athletic director Chris Drosopoulos said. “We’ve all kind of exchanged ideas. We’re going to have presentation on hydration and nutrition from 3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Practices will begin after that, and games will begin at 5 p.m.”
Section 1 allowed individual schools to make the necessary adjustments, while the CHSAA prohibited all outside activity until after the eclipse.
“We’re going to stay in the locker room,” longtime Gaels head coach Rick Trizano said. “If somebody wants to go outside and view the eclipse they can, but it’s not an organized team event. I’ve never seen anything like this before. There is a lot of hoopla. Earthquake today. Eclipse tomorrow. What’s next, locusts?"
