Season 3 Sports Prepare to Begin

(March 18, 2021)

Season 3 will begin for St. Mary's Academy student-athletes on Tuesday, April 6. Students interested in participating in golf, lacrosse, tennis or track and field must be registered for their Season 3 sport and approved to prior to participation. All students participating in Season 3 sports whether attending classes in-person or from home must take the antigen test on April 5 provided at the school. Check with the front office if you need more information regarding signing up for the test. 

Practice and competition schedules for Season 3 sports are being finalized and will be posted over spring break. Check out the Registration and Eligibility Information page for details and steps to get approved for Season 3 golf, lacrosse, tennis and track and field. Even if students have already been participating in and of these sports during Season 1, they must be registered in Family ID for their Season 3 sport. 

Questions? Contact SMA Athletic Department Assistant Kiko Flennaugh. 

Schedules for practice and competition for Season 2 sports are now available for cross-country, soccer and volleyball. Player selection for soccer and volleyball along with in-person practices for cross-country begin Monday, February 22. 

Parents can check their student's eligibility/clearance for athletics through their Family ID account. If a student is marked APPROVED they are set to participate. If a student's Approval Status is -- (two dashes) or Not Approved, please check to make sure you have submitted all documents listed on the Eligibility and Registration Information page of our website. (note: as physicals and COVID waivers are received they must be manually entered into the system; please allow 6 hours between 8 am - 4 pm for this to be updated). Thank you for checking this first!

REMINDERS FOR PARENTS/STUDENT-ATHLETES:

• Do not come to practice if you are experiencing any COVID symptoms or have been directly exposed to someone who has COVID in the past 14 days. Please notify the coach of your absence as soon as possible. Coaches emails are listed on their sport page.

• Do not come to practice if you have traveled out of state in the past 10 days; exception for students residing in Washington.

• Players need to be marked as APPROVED in Family ID for Season 2 sport prior to arriving at site.

• Due to COVID limitations, NO SPECTATORS will be allowed at indoor or outdoor venues; players only. At Buckman and Duniway Parks, viewing can only take place from the parking lot. 

• Bring a full water bottle, face mask, and any other necessary equipment/apparel for practice. Leave valuables at home.

• Clothing must meet St. Mary’s Academy dress code for coverage and appropriate signage/messaging.

• Please be prompt in picking up students at the end of each session; coaches cannot leave unattended students at the field.

• Rides may pick up from Duniway or Buckman or cross country off-campus sites; be sure to let the coach know you when you leave with your ride.

• Please arrive 15 minutes early for pre-practice attendance/check-in.

• Players practicing at Duniway walk in groups of at least 2, preferably more to and from the park.

• There will be designated spaces at school reserved for students staying afterschool prior to departing for practices.

• Please communicate with Coaches via REMIND or smapdx.org email address; not through personal cell/email accounts.

• Attendance at all SMA athletic contests home and away, indoors and outdoors will be restricted to SMA team members and coaches and contest officials in accordance with OHA COVID facilities restrictions. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your cooperation to allow our students to have the opportunity to compete during the pandemic. Contests in Mathews Gymnasium will be livestreamed; livestreams from other venues and for other sports are still being developed. Stay tuned for information before the first competitions. 

Return of Competitive Sports 

February 8, 2021

Season 2: Fall Sport (Cross Country, Soccer, Volleyball) Registration Open on Family ID

Registration for Season 2: Fall Sports is now open for students interested in participating in cross country, soccer, and volleyball on Family ID. In order to be APPROVED for activity starting February 22, students must complete the 6-Step process outlined on the Eligibility and Registration Information page. All steps must be completed prior to activity (current athletic physical, parent and student COVID waivers (read, sign and send completed form to SMA Athletic Department Assistant Yukiko Flennaugh), and paid the seasonal participation fee). 

Questions can be directed to the SMA Athletic Department Assistant Yukiko Flennaugh.

Season 2: Fall Sports (Cross Country, Soccer, Volleyball)

·   Practice begins 2/22

·   Competitions start 3/1

·   Season concludes 4/11

Registration in Family ID Season 3: Spring Sports (golf, lacrosse, tennis, track & field) will open in early March. 

·   Practice begins 4/5

·   Competitions start 4/12

·   Season concludes 5/23

Registration in Family ID for Season 4: Winter Sports (basketball & swimming) will open in April.

·   Practice begins 5/10 

·   Competitions start 5/17

·   Season concludes 6/27

SMA Athletics: Season 1 Options Update 

(January 20, 2021)

St. Mary's students are currently able to participate in optional Season 1 athletic activities after completing the registration steps outlined on the Eligibility and Registration Information page. 

Current IN-PERSON Options

Lacrosse (at Buckman Field) : Thursdays in January 7, 14, 21, 28 and February 4, 11, 18; from 4:00-5:30 pm

Basketball (at Alberta Park covered court, south end of park): Tuesday 3-4:00 pm & Saturday 10-11:00 am

Current VIRTUAL Option

Swimming (via zoom): Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays from 4:00-5:00pm (except for 1/1, 1/18, and 2/15). To receive the meeting link, contact SMA Head Swim Coach Crystal Ius.

Current HYBRID - Virtual & In-Person - Option

Cross Country:

Wednesday Workouts:  3:00 pm; beginning Jan. 27 at a central location or possibly two locations (East/West) pending coach availability.  

Saturday Long Runs: 10:00 am; beginning Jan. 23 - site to be announced. 

Tuesday and Thursday Zoom Workouts: 5-6:00 pm; contact SMA Head Cross Country Coach Charles Douglas to receive meeting link.

Following the newly established 2020-21 Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) season calendar posted in mid-December, St. Mary’s Athletic Department is working to prepare for the upcoming modified return to competitive athletic activity in late February. Here’s what SMA families need to know about the current plan if are interested in participating in competitive athletics this school year with an SMA team.

Until February 21 all SMA sports are under the OSAA Season 1 optional in-person activity protocols. Given the governor’s restrictions based on the risk level of each county, St. Mary’s teams are only allowed to participate in in-person activity outdoors. Several sports are currently offering opportunities for any student interested, those are: cross country and swimming (virtual workouts/online tracking), basketball, soccer, lacrosse and alpine skiing (outdoor/in-person). Several other sports are currently working on identifying interested students to provide opportunities in their sport. Please contact the head coach of the sport of interest through their email listed at the bottom of the sport webpage on the school website. All students participating in in-person activity must complete the Season 1 registration steps outlined on the Eligibility and Registration page of our school website.

Season 2 will begin February 22 with activity for cross-country, soccer and volleyball and run through early April. Activity will be closer to the traditional high school athletics including tryouts (in team sports, regular weekday practices and competitions. As with Season 3 and 4, Season 2 will last 6 weeks and include a 5 day practice requirement prior to competition for students. Students interested in participating in activity (both tryouts and practices) will need to register in Family ID for Season 2 activity even if they had been cleared for Season 1 activity. Practice and competition schedules for Season 2 sports will be available in early February. Of note, this season will include Spring Break and SMA teams may have competitions during this time.

Season 3 will begin April 5 with activity for golf, lacrosse, tennis, track and field and conclude in mid-May. (Dragon boat information has not been made available yet.) Students interested in participating in activity (both tryouts and practices) will need to register in Family ID for Season 3 activity even if they have been cleared for previous seasons/sports. Practice and competition schedules for Season 3 sports will be available in late March.

Season 4 will begin May 10 with activity in basketball and swimming and run through June 27. Students interested in participating in Season 4 activity (both tryouts and practices) will need to register in Family ID for Season 4 activity even if they have been cleared for previous seasons/sports. Practice and competition schedules for Season 4 sports will be available in April.

All students participating in athletic activity will need to meet the following eligibility requirements prior to participation:

1. Full-time, current SMA student in good academic standing

2. Read and agree to follow policies set out in the 2020-21 SMA Student-Athlete Handbook.

3. Completed the registration process through Family ID for each specific sport season

4. Current athletic physical submitted to the SMA Athletic Dept. on the state-mandated OSAA form (good for 2 years from the date of the last exam on file).  Electronic submission to SMA Athletic Department okay.

5. Submit parent and student COVID waiver forms, one-time submission to SMA Athletic Department is good for the school year.

6. Pay the seasonal participation fee (Seasons 2, 3, and 4).

Stay tuned for updates either on the SMA Athletic Department homepage, Parent Association Newsletter or 5 on Fifth communications.

The OSAA Executive Board adopted an altered schedule for the 2020-21 school year at their meeting this morning. Given the current rise in the number of COVID cases, they have pushed back the beginning of Season 2 and shortened the length of each season to six weeks. 

In addition, given the current restrictions on the winter indoor activities they also switched which sports took place in Seasons 2, 3, and 4 to allow the best opportunity for them to be played this year. In the new model the fall sports will be contested in Season 2 (soccer, cross country, football, and volleyball); Season 3 will include the traditional spring sports (baseball, softball, golf, tennis, track and field) and Season 4 the winter sports (basketball, swimming, and wrestling). The Oregon Girls Lacrosse Association will follow the OSAA's move placing lacrosse in Season 2 along with the other spring sports.

     Here is the revised 2020-21 OSAA Activities Calendar. 

Finally, they also extended Season 1 through February 21, 2021 to allow optional, in-person training, workouts and even competitions to occur in those areas of the state that are allowed per the Governor’s Office, OHA guidance, and local school district policy. Multnomah County being in the Extreme Risk category is only allowed outdoor in-person activities following COVID protocols until case numbers drop. The OSAA will revisit participation limitations for all seasons, out-of-season coaching policies for Season 2, 3, and 4, and the need for further decisions as a result of updated state guidance or changing risk level metrics at upcoming work sessions. 

STAY WELL BLUES!

Coming out of the 2-week pause on December 2, Oregon K-12 athletic activities will now be required to follow the new guidelines posted by the Oregon Health Authority based on the risk level of the county the school is located. Currently, Multnomah County is in the Extreme Risk category so all indoor athletic activity for St. Mary's students is prohibited. 

Several SMA coaches are working on either virtual or outdoor options to offer our students. Look for communication from basketball, swimming, alpine and nordic skiing, lacrosse and golf coaches in the near future as they develop and coordinate safe options for SMA students to connect through their sport with teammates and coaches. 

STAY WELL BLUES!

Given the rise in infection rates in the region, the decision has been made to place a 2-week pause on all newly beginning and indoor in-person athletic activities at St. Mary's beginning November 17. SMA teams who have been doing virtual activities or are beginning new virtual activities are not impacted by this pause. 

The decision to begin or resume indoor in-person athletic activity beyond the 2-week pause will weigh several factors including guidance expected this week from the governor/Oregon Dept. of Education specifically pertaining to K-12 athletics, as well as the trend in COVID cases. 

Registration for newly beginning in-person athletic activities will continue as posted on the Athletic Eligibility and Registration page. In the meantime, all students are still welcome to participate in virtual workouts hosted by SMA Strength and Conditioning Coach Brittiany Roberts. Sessions are held Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30-4:30 pm and can be found at:  

https://smapdx-org.zoom.us/j/2177707170 

(during Thanksgiving Week sessions will be held at 9 am Monday and Tuesday only)

Thank you for your patience and support; stay safe Blues!

St. Mary's Academy Athletics will continue to offer optional, in-person athletic activity and will leave the decision on whether or not their student participates up to each family. Governor Brown's new 2-week restrictions and closures clearly addressed high school athletics citing the policy would not effect outdoor recreation and sports, youth programs, and K-12 sports currently allowed.

Please check directly with your student's coach for any changes to currently scheduled activities. 

In early August, the Oregon Schools Activities Association (OSAA) and Governor Brown made announcements that had a dramatic impact on the face of high school athletics in Oregon for the 2020-21 school year.

Citing the impact the pandemic restrictions have on the mental health of children and teenagers, Governor Brown gave K-12 schools that were operating in comprehensive distance learning only the option to offer in-person athletic activity. She recognized the clear benefits of physical activity and connection with coaches and teammates this provided when schools followed OHA/ODE sanctioned safety protocols.

The OSAA restructured the association’s seasons into four with the first 4 months of the school year being identified as a time to reconnect, condition and compete outdoors in certain sports as well as condensing their three competitive seasons into 8 week time periods and moved the traditional fall sports in between the winter and spring sports seasons.

Specifically:

• Season 1 – All sports conditioning and competition outdoors for non- and minimal contact sports – non-OSAA sanctioned competitions – focus on the opportunity to exercise/connect

• Season 2 - Winter sports (basketball, swim, alpine ski, nordic ski): December 28 – Feb. 28

• Season 3 - Fall sports (cross country, soccer, volleyball): Feb. 22 – April 25

• Season 4 - Spring Sports (golf, lacrosse, tennis, track & field): April 19-June 20

Guidelines for In-person Activity:

• Training, conditioning and competition for outdoor non-contact and minimal/medium contact sports.

• Training and conditioning for outdoor full-contact sports.

• Training and conditioning for all indoor sports.

Training and conditioning, such as weightlifting, running drills and intra-squad scrimmaging, cannot include full contact of any kind.

Schools offering some version of in-person learning may allow their school sports teams to participate in any indoor and outdoor non-contact and minimal/medium contact sports.

The following definitions apply:

• “Full-contact sports” means sports that involve a requirement or substantial likelihood of routine, sustained close proximity or physical contact between participants, and includes but is not limited to football, rugby, wrestling, cheerleading, basketball, hockey, dance, water polo, men’s lacrosse. Full-contact sports are prohibited at this time.

• “Minimal- and medium-contact sports” include but are not limited to softball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, women’s lacrosse, flag football.

• “Non-contact sports” include but are not limited to tennis, swimming, golf, cross country, track and field, sideline/no-contact cheer and dance.

To read the OSAA’s full announcement, visit: http://www.osaa.org/coronavirus.