ANTHONY GETTINO
Sports Editor
As many of us now know, Fredonia is beginning to change the COVID testing procedures for all students who are taking in-person classes this semester.
Next week, students will begin to do self-testing from their homes or dorms rather than going into the Steele Hall Fieldhouse for weekly pool testing.
But where does this leave student athletes that are competing this spring?
Under the NCAA rules and regulations regarding COVID, all athletes must be tested 72 hours prior to traveling for competition, meaning that the self-testing isn’t going to be an option for athletes.
Instead, these athletes will be continuing to do pool testing through the trainers here and the results will be sent into the student body tests afterwards.
The other reasoning behind having the student athletes come in and take the tests themselves is to keep from having a friend take the test for them. This has become a concern for people on campus in regards to the overall switch from in-person testing to at-home.
The pool testing for student athletes doesn’t begin right away, so there will be a small amount of time that they will be using the self-testing kits as well. Once competition starts for a team, they will be taken out of the general testing and start on their 72 hour pre-meet testing schedule instead.
One thing to note for these student athletes is that unlike the current pool testing, there won’t be forgiveness when it comes to missing a test. While the school gives you a strike before you lose access to your eServices, if you miss a test you will not be allowed to play, or even get on the bus to travel.
Athletes may also have to be tested multiple times in a week depending on their team’s schedule.