Amateur sports in Minnesota, from youth to adult leagues, resumed Monday with practices after a 45-day pause. Not everyone was happy.
Under state guidelines designed to curb the spread of COVID-19, all participants were required to wear masks, whether playing or watching, and no spectators were allowed.
“After much, much, further discussion with fellow hockey parents,” Karson Frokjer wrote in an email to Minnesota Hockey’s board of directors, “We Need Parents Allowed Entry in order to restart!”
Frokjer and his wife, Nicole, held their daughter out of under-10 ice hockey practice Monday because they were concerned about leaving her alone, even after learning the players would be gathered in the parking lot and taken into the arena by the team manager.
As the day wore on and Karson Frokjer learned more details about how practices would be run, he began to feel more comfortable. Still, he said Monday evening, he and his wife will talk with other team parents before deciding to move forward.
There are too many issues for which parents are needed, Frokjer said, from tying their children’s skates tightly to being there in case of injury.
“I’m hoping to send her later this week if it sounds like things are going smoothly,” he said.
It’s unclear whether parents will be allowed inside arenas if games begin, as scheduled, on Jan. 14. That guidance is “forthcoming,” according to the Minnesota Department of Health’s “COVID-19 Sports Practice Guidance for Youth and Adults.”
That could be coming soon. Teddy Tschann, communications director for the governor’s office, said Gov. Tim Walz “will address Minnesotans on Wednesday at 2 p.m. to announce a loosening of restrictions on indoor dining and other settings.”
It can’t come soon enough for youth sports leaders. With so many questions from parents — and, frankly, disagreements over state-mandate rules — they’re starving for guidance. For the past week, they have found themselves trying to defend decisions they didn’t make.
“We’re excited to be returning, and will do everything we can to have a safe, healthy and complete season by following state guidelines,” said Matt Tiano, chief executive of Twin Cities Soccer Leagues. “We would, however, like more guidance from the state on how to answer the many questions related to mandates, particularly as they relate to mask-wearing during competition.”
Youth sports pauses and shutdowns have been hot-button topics in Minnesota since the 2019-20 high school seasons were canceled in the middle of the state girls basketball tournament March 13. The Facebook group Let Them Play, composed of more than 24,000 Minnesota parents, has protested outside the Governor’s Residence and sued Walz for what it perceived as overstepping his authority (the lawsuit was denied by a federal judge on Dec. 21).
The mask requirement announced Dec. 28 is just a new, and very divisive, wrinkle — even if sports mask mandates have been in place in states such as California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Wisconsin. Minnesota Hockey Executive Director Glen Andresen reached out to counterparts in other states, who reported no problems.
“That’s been a tough one,” said Dawson Blanck, executive director of Minnesota Youth Athletic Services, which runs leagues and tournaments for dozens of local baseball, softball and basketball associations.
Blanck and Andresen are among several youth sports leaders who have been working with the state since April to get their athletes back on fields, courts and rinks. But they’ve never felt so lost — moving forward under rules they didn’t create while often feeling maligned by some of their own constituents.
They’re not happy with every mandate; both, for instance, believe that at least some parents should be allowed in arenas. But the other option, they understand, is not playing at all.
“We’re complying like everyone else; it is what it is,” Blanck said. “Everyone has an opinion, but if the state and the Department of Health say this is best, that’s what we’re going to follow.”
Still, said Blanck and Tiano, they’re unsure of what to do when a parent requests a facemask waiver for a child with an underlying health issue such as asthma. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends mask wearing for athletes in indoor settings, but the World Health Organization does not.
RELATED: State commissioner Tarek Tomes answers questions about Minnesota youth sports mandates.
The mask mandate has struck a new chord; even those who agree that wearing a mask helps protect athletes are wary of making young children wear one while competing in athletics. Jennifer Cristallo of Prior Lake doesn’t believe masks work in any setting.
Cristallo wears a mask as mandated in stores, and her elementary school-age kids wear one at school. With sports, she said, “It’s another level.”
“I follow the rules when I go to Target; I’m upset that my kids have to wear a mask at school, but education is a priority and I believe that happens best in person and not in front of a computer full time,” Cristallo said. “Now we have to take a second hit from sports.”
She held her children out of soccer practice Monday and will, she said, as long as the mask mandate remains.
“I’m hoping it will blow over quickly,” she said, “but at this point, until something changes, or we’re given the choice where (wearing a mask) is an option, we’re out. It’s really unfortunate.”
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