A message from GCSD Athletics Director David Austin:
Dear GCSD Community,
I am writing to provide an update on the status of the remainder of the winter sports season at GCSD. As you might have seen last week, Governor Cuomo authorized the start of winter high-risk sports for Feb. 1, 2021, pending approval from local county health departments. Given this news, our Board of Education expressed support for the start of these sports, but only if authorized by the Albany County Department of Health.
The Albany County Department of Health announced on Wednesday, Jan. 27 that they will not permit winter high-risk sports to begin on February 1; therefore, we cannot start basketball, wrestling, ice hockey, and competitive cheer as we hoped. The Department of Health provided guidelines that must be met in order for winter high-risk sports to begin – most notable is that the 7-day rolling average positivity rate in the county must be at or below 4%. According to the NYSDOH COVID Dashboard, as of today, Albany County is at 6.4%.
I feel for our students who were looking forward to the start of sports next week. Please know that we are preparing for if and when we will be permitted to do so. We have reached out to student athletes to be ready by completing the required paperwork.
In the meantime, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me. You can call the athletics office at 518-861-8591, ext. 4000 or email me directly at austind@guilderlandschools.net. Thank you and Go Dutchmen!
Sincerely,
David Austin
GCSD Athletics Director