RICHMOND, Va. — Gov. Ralph Northam will allow more people to attend sporting events in-person, in Virginia.
250 people, or spectators, are now allowed to be present at sporting venues in the state, according to the new information mandated from Northam during a news conference on Wednesday.
The announcement comes as high school fall sports teams started practicing this week. It is an increase from the original number of only 25 spectators allowed.
The Virginia High School League voted back in July to move the start date of fall sports to the spring. It was something that many states and even college programs and leagues did to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The impact of closing down youth sports, especially high school sports, is something that many parents and students across the DMV region have been frustrated about during the pandemic. Many student-athletes worried that not playing their senior season could impact potential college scholarship opportunities.
“When you need sports the most, it’s not there because of the pandemic," Woodrow Wilson High School senior athlete Danny Page said.
Page has worked hard throughout his high school career, earning 1200 on the SAT and maintaining a GPA of 4.3 throughout his senior year. He said he was counting on football to help him pay for college.
“Sports is my leeway to college, and I don’t have that right now," he said.
"Coaches, they want to see film. I don’t have any film right now because of the pandemic.”