SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KRON) – California has reached an agreement to allow all youth sports to return statewide.
“Let Them Play CA,” a San Diego-based organization, spearheaded the effort by recruiting more than 700 coaches and 60,000 students to advocate for the restarting of youth sports.
“To our athletes: there is a beautiful lesson in this effort for all of you,” the group said in a statement. “When something matters to you and it is important, no matter the odds, no matter if you win or lose, you try. The simple act of trying can set events in motion that motivate, guide, and teach you how to struggle for something that matters. We tried for you in this case for a very simple reason: we love you, and we believe in you.”
Guidelines, which are expected to by posted in full on Thursday, will follow the same rules being applied at the collegiate level.
The state will provide testing for men’s football, water polo and rugby teams. All other sports, including women’s football, water polo and rugby, will have to find their own testing arrangement to meet the once a week testing requirement.
Four family members per player will be allowed to attend each game.
A lawsuit was filed on Jan. 28 in San Diego and argued that it was unfair that youth and high school sports were barred from participating in athletic activates while professional and college athletes were allowed to go forward.
Nicholas Gardinera, a senior at Scripps Ranch High School, and Cameron Woolsey, a senior at Mission Hills High School, won a temporary restraining order against the state on Feb. 19 which led to similar lawsuits in counties across California that challenged the restrictions on indoor and outdoor sports.
California counties have been allowed to resume outdoor youth sports on Feb. 26 if they were in the purple reopening tier, but today’s decision includes indoor activates regardless of what tier a county is in.