DC Mayor Suspends High School Sports, Restricts Activities at Parks

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks at a news conference in Washington on Satu
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
Dylan Gwinn

Athletic activity in the nation’s capital will come to a near-complete stop, as Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) hands down a new set of coronavirus restrictions suspending high school sports and limiting several other extracurricular activities.

At a Monday press conference, Bowser announced that beginning on Friday, all “high contact” amateur and youth sports within the district would be prohibited from hosting competitive matches. The rule would extend to sports such as football, lacrosse, wrestling, and soccer. Leagues can still hold practices, as long as no contact between participants is made.

“All public school sports activities, including competitions, are suspended under the new restrictions, the mayor continued, while gym classes in D.C. public schools will be restricted from participating in activities in which students are within 6 feet of one another, for the time being, the Hill reports.

While some non-contact practice is technically allowed, the District’s Parks and Recreation Department will temporarily halt the issuing of permits for sports-related activities, as part of the order.

The order comes in response to a surge in coronavirus cases in the DC Metropolitan area. More than 6,300 coronavirus cases were recently reported in Virginia, Maryland, and the District, according to the Washington Post.

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