The 2020-21 Stanford University athletic seasons recently got a bit simpler, as Santa Clara County lifted some of its COVID-19 safety restrictions Monday.
A Tuesday press release from the Stanford athletic department stated that, since California’s regional stay at home order has been lifted and Santa Clara County has returned to the Purple Tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, the Division I private university will “now resume training and competition involving contact, close proximity and equipment sharing, both indoors and outdoors.”
"On behalf of Stanford Athletics, I again want to express my gratitude to our Santa Clara County officials for the thoughtful decision-making process they have undertaken to protect our community throughout the coronavirus pandemic," Stanford director of athletics Bernard Muir said in the press release. "We are thrilled that our student-athletes will now be able to train and compete on campus, and we will continue to follow rigorous health and safety standards as our teams embark on their upcoming seasons."
There will still be safety measures, including PCR testing three times per week, teammate-only households, social distancing and masking. Unless they are seeking emergency services, teams traveling more than 150 miles to reach Santa Clara County are required to stay at their place of residence or at facilities used for athletic activities. The Pac-12 Conference is prohibiting fan attendance at competitions on conference campuses.
According to The Associated Press, Stanford’s basketball teams have been playing home games in Santa Cruz, Calif., all season due to the pause Santa Clara County placed on contact sports in November.
Stanford basketball and wrestling have been competing, while volleyball is scheduled to start Feb. 5. The rest of Stanford’s winter teams haven’t started their seasons, although 11 more teams have returned to campus for phased training.
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