For almost a month now, Emory University’s athletic teams have been holding official practices. Last weekend, the men’s golf, softball and baseball teams competed against other schools for the first time in over a year, taking the next step in the University's plan to ramp up athletic competition.
With this change, athletes are excited and thankful for the opportunity to compete amid the pandemic. For junior men’s golfer Logan Ryan, returning to competition after so much uncertainty was an amazing feeling.
“[Emory Athletic Director] Keiko [Price] and a lot of coaches put a lot of hard work [into] putting plans out there for us to get back to playing athletics this spring,” Ryan said. “But it wasn't always certain that we were going to be playing. To finally get back to competition got us all excited.”
While players were grateful to resume practice and begin intercollegiate competition, the University's road to this point had been a common source of frustration among athletes. Price stated that plans had been in place at the beginning of the semester to allow teams to resume competition in the spring. However, the athletic department waited to implement these plans because teams had only just started practicing. Price also explained that the spike in cases at the University a few weeks ago caused further delay and even doubt as to whether games could even be played.
“In full transparency, we did not tell the student-athletes they were going to be able to compete until we saw the surge numbers come down a little bit,” Price said. “So they were not informed until last week because there was some concern with the numbers — the numbers had me concerned, they had our campus concerned.”
Price stated that if cases did not decrease, she would not have moved forward with intercollegiate competition.
Fortunately for athletes, cases have decreased since then and competition has resumed, albeit with some changes from pre-COVID times. For one, Emory teams are currently only allowed to play away games. With the exception of golf — which plays weekend-long tournaments out of state — teams cannot stay overnight in the cities in which they play. When teams travel, they must take buses large enough for players to socially distance. In addition, players are required to wear masks and are not permitted to eat on the bus. For softball junior first baseman Mattie Ryan, these guidelines produced at least one memorable bus ride.
“It's kind of funny,” Ryan said. “We stopped to get Panera [Bread] on the way there as our pregame meal, and we had to sit outside of Panera on the side of a road. We had to eat outside because we aren't allowed to eat on the bus or in the restaurant.”
While all athletic teams must follow strict protocols, Ryan noted that Covenant College’s (Ga.) players, coaches and fans did not follow similar guidelines when the teams played a doubleheader on March 11.
“It was kind of surprising seeing how they treated wearing a mask and social distancing,” Ryan said. “They weren't wearing masks, and they weren't socially distancing amongst themselves.”
The softball team is required to wear masks in the dugout but players are given the option to wear them on the field, Ryan said.
While there are few differences in game play before and during the pandemic for softball games, the men’s golf team faced one huge change in how they traditionally compete. Before the pandemic, golfers would play their daily 18-hole rounds alongside two opponents. Due to current COVID-protocols, Emory golfers are only allowed to play with their teammates.
“When you're playing with your teammates and not your competition — and especially playing with five players in one group instead of three — things take a whole lot longer,” Ryan said. “But those are things you are going to deal with and you get through.”
Price said the University’s first weekend of intercollegiate competition in over a year all went according to plan. While she is uncertain if Emory will be able to host home games in the near future, she plans to direct her focus towards making sure teams are able to compete frequently and as safely as possible.
“Right now, we're just going to continue to focus on making sure that they're able to travel safely and they're able to compete safely,” Price said. “That's all we can really ask for right now.”
