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Niagara County Legislator Chris Robins: 'Let the kids play'

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Wed, Jun 17th 2020 12:50 pm

Niagara County Legislator Chris Robins on Wednesday called on New York state to update its guidance on organized youth sports to allow practices to begin immediately.

“It’s time to let the kids play,” said Robins, a father of two youth baseball players. “With everything that has reopened including the most recent guidelines that allow for group gatherings of up to 25 people, holding back on the ability of youth sports teams to hold outdoor practices simply makes no sense.”

Robins said initially everyone believed league play would not be allowed until July 6, but practices could start now. However, yesterday the state further clarified formal practices would not be allowed until then either.

“This recent clarification on practices has caused chaos,” Robins said. “You can have 12 kids show up to a baseball diamond to hit the ball around and that’s fine. But put on a jersey and have the coach run the practice and suddenly you are in violation. So now, informal practices being supervised by parents are popping up.

“Youth sports organizations have been planning to adhere to social distancing and other guidelines once sports resume. I think it would be much safer for everyone to have these organizations running these practices rather than the patchwork that is going on now.”

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