Virus, compressed season put stress on Michigan referees
February 8, 2021 GMT
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) High schools are anticipating a shortage of men and women who blow the whistle as basketball returns to Michigan gyms after a timeout for the coronavirus.
Registration of referees is down 25% from a year ago, and the risk of COVID-19 is a “contributing factor,” said Geoff Kimmerly, a spokesman at the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
“It is always a concern because there are so many games with the girls and boys seasons playing concurrently,” Kimmerly told MLive.com. “It is a concern even in non-COVID years, and we expect it to be more of a concern over these next two months.”
Clock will be ticking on hoops teams in shortened season michigansthumb.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from michigansthumb.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Children are the least affected by the coronavirus, but they may be the most affected by governments responses to the virus.
Some are finally speaking up.
In Michigan, thousands of student-athletes decided to protest these restrictions after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told high school students:
Still no basketball, no hockey, no winter sports, or any extracurriculars until I say so.
More than 2,000 students rallied outside the Michigan Capitol building this week, arguing that it makes no sense to keep them at home when they are not a risk to others. It s very important to me, Ethan Dunn, a junior basketball player, told the
Ryan Loren: Local athletes get long overdue relief - News - Monroe News - Monroe, Michigan monroenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from monroenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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CALUMET TOWNSHIP In a special meeting conducted last Thursday, the Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw (CLK) Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution supporting local district control in determining learning, instruction and extracurricular modes, as defined by Public Act 148, along with an action item acknowledging and supporting the efforts throughout the state of Michigan to reinstate winter athletics before Feb. 21.
CLK’s actions came on the heels, of previous action taken at the School Board’s regular meeting on Jan. 12, when a letter of support was approved for the Houghton County Board of Commissioners’ resolution calling for the reopening of small businesses and contact sports, along with local authority to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. The actions also came at the same time that the Hancock Board of Education published an open letter to state officials from in which that school district objected to the Michigan Department of Health and