March 4, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom and his administration settled a lawsuit from high school athletes which cleared outdoor and indoor sports to return. Even with new guidelines and rules, schools, players, and parents are eager to get started.

The new rules for student athletes include weekly testing and a negative result two days before their game. Once COVID-19 cases in the country start declining to seven out of 100,000, outdoor sports won’t have to test weekly. Indoor sports like volleyball and basketball will continue weekly testing until local case rates drop to less than one in 100,000. Other new rules are the ban of indoor team dinners and film studies, no sharing equipment, and coaches and players who aren’t competing must wear a mask.

For the parents of the student athletes, only four members of the player’s family can attend a game. Family members will not be tested before admittance but are to keep social distance during the game. For students, it is still unclear what the rules will be for them to attend their school’s games. 

County public health departments could still enforce stricter rules, but right now high school student athletes are excited about this win.