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DRMS Athletics News!
Happy New Year Dolphins! This is Kristen Faircloth, proud principal at Durant Road Middle School, sharing some athletics updates.
ATHLETICS UPDATE
Athletics are finally back for middle schools! We will begin as soon as we track in, on January 25th for girls basketball, boys basketball, and cheerleading. This year athletics will look a little different as compared to the past due to COVID-19 and safety guidelines as outlined by Wake County. There will be no interscholastic athletic competition against opposing middle schools this year. Instead, student athletes will have the opportunity to participate in skill development, conditioning, and for some sports, intramural options will be held. Health and safety will be our top priority as we conduct these athletic skill sessions.
WHEN WILL ATHLETICS START?
Winter sports-girls & boys basketball, cheerleading: January 25-February 19
Fall sports-football, girls soccer, volleyball, cheerleading: February 22-March 26
Spring sports-girls & boys track and field, boys soccer, softball: April 7-May 14
*There will be no skill sessions on asynchronous learning days.
Skill sessions will begin right after school and end at 4:30pm. Virtual academy students will need to arrive to the front of the school between 3:00 and 3:15pm and must wait in their cars until they pass their health screening.
At this time, we are not sure if an after school activity bus will be available to take students home after practice. We will announce that information when it becomes available.
WHO CAN ATTEND?
6th, 7th, and 8th graders will have the opportunity to participate in these skill sessions, with priority going to 7th and 8th graders. There will be a limit on the number of students who can attend these sessions due to social distancing and safety guidelines. All students will be assigned weeks to participate and will only be allowed to come during their assigned week.
Plan B student athletes (non-virtual academy students) will have the opportunity to attend these sessions only while they are in school for in person instruction. These Plan B students must also be present in school during their in-person week in order to attend. A Plan B student will not be admitted inside to attend the skill session if they stayed home during instruction. Locker rooms will not be available, so Plan B students should come to school dressed for their after school activity and have a water bottle with their name on it. You may want to bring an extra mask those days as well if you want a fresh mask prior to starting physical activity.
Virtual academy student athletes will be assigned a week to come and will have to go through a health screening process prior to being allowed in the building and/or athletic fields. Health screenings will take place at the front entrance of the school between 3:00-3:15pm. Students must wait in their cars at the front of the school until they pass their health screening. Please turn off your heat while waiting in your cars so we can obtain an accurate temperature. Virtual academy students should come dressed for activity, have a mask, and have a water bottle with their name on it.
HOW CAN YOU ATTEND?
You will need to complete 2 forms in order to be eligible to attend any skill session. You will need to complete a sport interest form to be assigned a week and you will need to complete the pre-participation athletic paperwork in order to participate.
Interest Form
In order to be assigned a week to attend, you must fill out an interest form. Interest forms will be sent out prior to each season starting. Here is the WINTER SPORTS INTEREST FORM. Fall and spring forms will be sent out later. From this form, Mrs. Mauder will be working on assigning students for each week to ensure that numbers allow safety for all and everyone has equal opportunity to participate. Mrs. Mauder will let you know the dates you are allowed to attend. You can only attend those dates if you are healthy and have turned in your pre-participation athletic paperwork.
Pre-Participation Athletic PaperworkAll student athletes will need to have a valid physical (doctor exam form) and a current athletic participation packet on file with Mrs. Mauder in order to participate. This paperwork must be completed prior to your first day of practice. The pre-participation athletic paperwork will be submitted online through our registration portal on our athletics website. Almost all pages can easily be filled out and signed online. The only page that you must scan into the online portal is the physical exam page (doctor page 5). If you do not have access to a scanner to submit that page, then you may hand a paper copy into Mrs. Mauder. The online registration portal to submit your athletic participation packet will be up and running on January 13th. Please go to the Athletics Forms tab on our athletics website to complete this anytime. This pre-participation athletic paperwork will only need to be submitted one time this year, even if you participate in multiple sport seasons. Once Mrs. Mauder has received and reviewed your paperwork submission, she will reach out to you letting you know your status.
VIRTUAL INFORMATIONAL PARENT MEETINGS:
We know you may have questions and concerns about how athletics will look this year. Mrs. Mauder will be holding virtual informational parent meetings to help clarify all of this information as well as answer all questions you have prior to each sport season beginning. Registration to attend these meetings will be posted online prior to the meetings. If you cannot attend a meeting, we will post recordings of the meetings and an FAQ sheet on the athletics website. Mrs. Mauder will also be happy to help answer any questions you have through email at tmauder@wcpss.net.
You only need to attend 1 meet session per season. Please note these dates are tentative. Any changes that may occur will be announced and updated on our website.
Winter Sports Parent Meeting:Friday, January 15 at 11:00amTuesday, January 19 at 5:00pmFall Sports Parent Meeting:Wednesday, February 3 at 12:30pmMonday, February 8 at 5:00pm
Spring Sports Parent Meeting:Wednesday, March 17 at 12:30pmMonday, March 22 at 5:00pm
Please continue to monitor the athletics website and social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to stay up to date on the latest news. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Mauder at tmauder@wcpss.net.
Go Dolphins!
