All Fall Sports Postponed For Pittsfield Public Schools

According to a report from iBerkshires.com, the School Committee has voted to postpone all interscholastic athletic activities through Nov. 30.

The committee heard from Athletic Director Jim Abel on Wednesday and moved on his recommendation to essentially suspend all fall athletics with hopes of resuming them at a later date.

I want athletics as much as anyone else.... Given our position and the type of organization that we are, I just don't think it is responsible to not offer in-person education in our schools but consider in-person athletics. It seems contradictory.

Jim Abel

Abel went on to say that the Berkshire County Athletic Directors Association recently met and hoped to vote on a countywide recommendation to present to principals and school committees.

According to Abel, the state has taken football off the table and members of the Berkshire County Athletic Directors Association only could consider golf, soccer, volleyball,  and cross country running.

However, some directors were hesitant to support volleyball and soccer.

Volleyball would have to take place indoors so there was skepticism on going forward, and in the case of soccer, the modifications were so significant that it would change the way the game is played.

For instance, corner kicks could not be placed toward the goalie and defenders must stay 6 feet away from offensive players.

A second motion was made to only allow golf and cross country running to move forward in the fall. Abel said although still controversial, this motion gained traction and passed with an 8-2 vote.

The Berkshire County Principals Association also met to discuss the Athletic Directors' vote and went in a different direction. Principals voted to postpone all fall sports and move them to a "floating season" at some point in the future.

For more on the story, including other factors that lead to sports being postponed such as expending resources to properly sanitize facilities, check out the story on iBerkshires.com and we thank them for the update.