The Covid-19 pandemic squashed many opportunities and activities worldwide for the last six months, including the entirety of the high school spring sports schedule last school year.

A few months ago, not many were confident sports would return anytime soon.

Thankfully, the PIAA and the Spring-Ford community put forth great time, effort, and preparation to provide a fall season for high-school students.

That hard work resulted in the boys and girls golf teams beginning their seasons recently and the field hockey, volleyball, girls tennis, and cross-country teams joining them Friday, Sept. 25. The boys and girls soccer teams will have their first games the following week.

To highlight the kickoff of the fall sports season at Spring-Ford, the highly-anticipated football game against rival Perkiomen Valley takes place Friday night at Coach McNelly Stadium at 7 pm. The game will be broadcast on RCTV.

To ensure the safety of all individuals, Spring-Ford, the Pioneer Athletic Conference, and the PIAA have introduced many procedures to limit the potential spread of the virus. These extreme cleaning procedures include daily wiping of equipment, wearing of face masks, and scanning of temperatures.

Limits to fan attendance numbers is an additional precaution, with PAC game spectators being from the home team only as only home participants get two tickets for each game.

The PAC board of directors determined Sept. 21 that all events will be closed to the general public, no away spectators will be permitted in the game, and no walk-up tickets will be available. The only fans in attendance will be from the two-ticket allotment for home-team players.

“The Pioneer Athletic Conference understands the importance of spectators being a part of the game and experience for our student athletes,” a press release from the PAC stated. “We believe that spectators add an important piece to athletic events and serve as a venue for our student athletes to be supported, uplifted, and encouraged during and after the contest. This is why our schools are encouraged to livestream the event for everyone’s viewing.”

Although the 2020 fall season is nothing like anyone could have imagined in the past, the athletes, coaches, and all involved here at Spring-Ford are grateful for the opportunity to get back out on the field.