Starting the week of December 2021, student athletes across Washington are required to be tested three times a week no matter vaccination status. This requirement came into play due to the recent COVID exposures and cases across Washington state at four different wrestling tournaments. These tournaments linked to the new testing requirements resulted in an estimated number of 200 positive cases according to King 5 News.

Lake Stevens is one of the many schools in Washington that made the transition from testing unvaccinated athletes to testing three times a week regardless of vaccination status.

“The State Department of Health told the WIAA, how are you going to change your system a little bit? Instead of just canceling it, which I think that was up for discussion, they came up with testing everybody three times a week, and that’s why we made that shift,” Athletic Director and Associate Principal Jason Pearson said.

Because COVID-19 has affected the school system, government funding has been sent to states in order for schools to support the needs for safety protocols. Lake Stevens was given a total of $8,406,557.00 in federal funding, which was separated into three allocations of ESSER funds.

“As of Jan. 31, 2022, we’ve recorded $3,134,055 in paid expenditures. At this point, we have encumbered an additional $779,672 for this year. As we continue to review the possibilities of the use of these funds, we plan on exhausting all of the allocation given to our district by the end of the grant period. The last grant period ends in September 2024,” Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Teresa Main said.

The money given to school districts like Lake Stevens has paid for the numerous supplies that support COVID-19 protocols and safety restrictions.

“I mean, it’s not just athletics, but we have to buy thousands upon thousands of masks and other supplies just for school in general. So all of that is one big giant piece. We’re also testing students who are close contacts to come back to school early. So it’s not just about athletics,” Pearson said.

After the conclusion of winter break and holiday vacations, COVID was still in full swing and projected to see another wave of cases with the Omicron variant and with an increasing number of positive cases found in high-risk sports.

Krista Mackey, a para educator with the Life Skills program, is also a volunteer with COVID-19 testing of student athletes. Mackey chose to volunteer to hopefully catch and decrease the number of positive cases and exposures because she thought it was important.

“It was somewhat expected due to the length of time away from school and students and staff, meeting with their extended family,” para educator Krista Mackey said.

Pearson has also seen a recent and dramatic increase in cases.

“We have gone from you know, maybe one kid to testing positive for those the week prior to break and a couple of weeks during break. And then when we came back from winter break, I think you know, we were already like five, six or seven. I can’t remember off the top of my head plus all the positive cases we had at school and stuff. I mean, they just skyrocketed,” Pearson said.

Addison Baker, a freshman at Cavelero Mid High School, who is competing for girls junior varsity basketball during the winter sports season, also competed for girls cross country in the fall. On Jan. 5, Addison tested positive for COVID after testing negative the day before for school athletics testing.

“Yeah, I have COVID now, and it sucks. I mean, we wear masks at practice and don’t go out that often. Trying not to get COVID but still got it,” Baker said.

Because winter sports are mostly indoors, and are considered high-risk, especially basketball and wrestling, there are more restrictions and rules athletes must follow.

“[There are] definitely more like precautions in the winter season because when we were in cross country, it was like we didn’t have to test as often or all. We had no cases, like, there were none,” Baker said.

With the increase of testing, comes the increase of supply and demand for rapid tests. Most stores are sold out, and doctor offices only allow testing for people with major symptoms.

“I don’t believe schools have any different priority than anybody else. We don’t order them, the district orders. And this order that we got the other day that was placed about three weeks ago, so it’s about probably the same as what somebody would be buying off of Amazon… We just got our next supply in, and we weren’t in danger of running out of tests, but were getting kind of low and then our new order came in yesterday,” Pearson said.

Due to the risky nature of indoor sports and high exposure rates, these restrictions may be in place for a long time, and just specifically for indoor high-risk events.

“I think they’re here to stay for a while because of the different variants that we have of COVID and those that are exposed and needing to be quarantined. Not all follow the rules – not just here within our district, but state and worldwide,” Mackey said.

CDC guidelines are in constant flux, and it affects the way Washington chooses restrictions and mandates. With people continuing to ignore rules and protocols or positive tests popping up at a fast pace, are there more restrictions being talked about behind the scenes to athletic conferences?

“Really what they’re trying to do is get through winter sports because basketball and wrestling are those indoor high contact sports. Trying to get through the postseason, get to state and then get outside where the rules are a little bit different for outdoor sports. So I haven’t heard of any new restrictions on the horizon, but everything’s possible; things change so quickly,” Pearson said.

Throughout the season athletes have become more used to the process of testing, but no athlete wants to receive a positive result and be forced to quarantine rather than suit up.

“I’m like, usually I’m calm, but this last time I got tested at practice, I was nervous because I had a little sore throat. I didn’t want to test positive because it would be embarrassing, they would have to pull me out of practice,” Baker said.

Organization has been important for the testing procedures. Student athletes were given a set time period during which they would be tested in the backstage area and doorway of the PAC by the Athletic Office at the time of winter break. Now that we’re back in school, testing is being provided to not only girls basketball, but boys basketball, wrestlers, cheerleaders, and even community members.

“I mean, there’s a lot of people that test at the same time. I’m in the hall, and they were like, literally, there were so many people and then they kept talking about how they were positive tests. And it was scary because I was like, Wait, they’re right here next to me and they just tested positive,” Baker said.
It is unclear whether or not the location and general process of testing will change in the future.

“I believe it is going to stay this way. Because the PAC is used by the Drama Club after school. And so I don’t believe that is accessible to us. However, that is a good point to bring up, and it’s possibly something that we could investigate further with Mr. Pearson,” Mackey said.

We are increasingly closer to playoffs and state for winter sports, and athletes and schools need to be prepared for any sort of conflict or cancellation they may endure with the increase of COVID and other variants. Stay safe and mask up, Viks!