Sports

By Noah Wright

The year 2020 saw the rise of COVID-19 and with it came a new standard for athletics here at CWU. With seasons started back up, there is a new procedure that has created an extra opponent for student-athletes to face while in competition.

Weekly testing has brought with it a new set of rules that affect not only the athletes, but athletics as a whole.

According to the Director of Athletics Dennis Francois, the path to this date has been exhausting.

“We knew that we were going to need something in place when seasons started again,” Francois said, “but it seemed like every two weeks, something changed.”

According to Francois, one of the most confusing parts of the testing procedure is the different testing cadences for each sport. “High-risk sports, such as football and rugby, have to test weekly if they are competing or practicing without masks,” Francois said.

Intermediate-risk sports have seen the biggest changes in testing cadences.

“If these sports [baseball, softball and basketball] are not traveling, then we test 30% of the team on a two-week basis,” Francois said, “but if they are traveling we test the whole team 3 days before departure.”

The low-risk sports, such as track and field and cross country, test only before traveling, Francois says.

According to Head Athletic Trainer Isaac Perry, the teams take a lab-based PCR test, which he considers to be the best possible ones.

“The tests are all done through the UW lab in Seattle,” Perry said. “They have an online system where we order tests for every person by putting in each person’s information prior and then we go through and print out all the information for each test.”

According to Perry, the testing procedure is that the teams test in the upper gym at Nicholson Pavilion. For the actual testing, Perry said everyone is given a swab, test tube and plastic bag which they use to self-administer the test and package up to be sent off.

The tests are then sent to the UW lab and results are released about 24 to 48 hours later, according to Perry.

According to Perry if a test comes back positive, CWU health center director Dr. Carylin Holsey, is the first one to be notified by the UW lab directly.

“Her job is to then relay the information to the appropriate people on campus, as well as the county health department,” Perry said.

Perry also stated that if a person misses the testing day, then they are held out until a makeup test is administered or the next testing cycle comes around, whichever one comes first.

According to Head coach Trevor Richards of the women’s rugby team, the whole testing process can be very stressful. “Obviously, no one wants to stick a swab up their nose,” Richards said, “ but beyond that there is a little bit of anxiety while waiting for the results.”

According to Richards, another stressful piece of the testing and procedures is the effects they have on everyone’s experience.

“It’s been really tough to come together as student-athletes because we are taking away their normal experience,” Richards said.

According to Richards, the athletes come to college and then they are told not to behave like normal college students.

However, the athletes on the team have been working hard to keep giving negative test results according to Richards. “We have been following the procedures and I feel bad sometimes because it is very hard to catch your breath while wearing the masks, but someone has to be the mask police,” Richards said.

This effort has paid off according to Richards.

“We [the team] started testing in the beginning of February and have not had a positive test,” Richards said.

According to Richards, negative test results are always encouraging to the team because it shows their efforts are not in vain.

“[The team] spent so long shut down and it was a very trying time, but continually getting negative results are what allow us to compete,” Richards said.

But one negative weekly test is no reason to forget all the safety procedures, according to Francois and Perry.

“The test only provides a result for that day,” Perry said. “It is important that we need to adhere to procedures daily because you could come back negative on one day and have symptoms a few days later.”

Tennis club to host tournament for members

By Jared Galanti

The CWU tennis club has gone through some changes this year. Gone are the trips to other schools to compete in tournaments, and in their place are practices on CWU tennis courts to sharpen their skills.

That will change on May 21-22, when the tennis club will be hosting its own tournament for club members.

There will be five different tournaments going on that weekend. A men’s and women’s doubles and singles tournament, as well as mixed doubles.

When we last heard from the club back in November, they were still practicing in hopes that they would be able to compete later in the year.

Jordyn Fassett, a junior and current vice-president of the club, said that some things have changed since then.

“Since (November) we’ve been able to use our facility,” Fassett said. “We’ve been able to play outside with our masks on. It’s been a lot of fun, we’ve had new officers, we had new games introduced and everybody seems to have a good time.”

Fassett said the club has a little bit of an overflow of funding due to the lack of travel that they are accustomed to during the school year. They have spent that extra money on T-shirts and sweatshirts for the seniors who are graduating this quarter.

Fassett said that the lack of traveling to other schools forced the club to come up with other ways to bond together.

“The core group of us who do (travel) have had to find other ways to connect and bond,” Fassett said. “We’ve had a couple get togethers, safely of course, it’s been really fun. I think people real-

Photo courtesy of Danny DeBock

With no traveling this year, the Tennis Club has been sharpening their skills .

ly value the time we have up here now. A lot of people do show up and show up consistently.”

Practice coordinator Danny DeBock said that the main goal for this time is to help those in the club improve their skills.

“Looking back on what we said, my mission was always to improve and be ready for the tournaments,” DeBock said. “And that’s been the case. We’ve seen a lot of improvement from a lot of players. One of the main advantages that I’ve seen through this year is how a few of us have become tactically smarter in our tennis game.”

DeBock said he’s been seeing a lot of players moving from just trying to get the ball over the net to continue a rally, to trying to actually win the point.

DeBock said the reason why they are putting the tournament on is to get the competitive edge that the club has not yet experienced this year.

“We haven’t had any competitive side that we could really exude except within practices itself,” DeBock said. “You can only do so much during practice, there hasn’t been much of a chance to compete.”

DeBock said that the tournament will be a nice way to prepare for next year when they can hopefully travel to other schools again and participate in tournaments there.

“Are we going to travel next year? I can’t guarantee anything,” DeBock said. “But I would say this things are a lot more open than they were this year compared to last spring … in hindsight while looking at all of this I would say the odds are in our favor of traveling next year.”

Wildcats on the Move walking challenge to continue as COVID-19 restrictions lift

By Mariana Gonzalez

As COVID-19 restrictions ease and more of the U.S. population becomes vaccinated, the Wildcats on the Move walking challenge offers staff and students a safe way to get some steps in as the U.S. slowly shifts back to normal. The challenge, which started as a staff-only event, has evolved to a student-focused event in the past three years.

Students, including those not based in Ellensburg, and staff can register for this event on the Recreation Center portal under special events until April 21. The challenge will begin on April 19 and will last for six weeks until May 28. Signing up for the challenge is free and all students are provided with a CWU pedometer they get to keep after the challenge is over.

The pedometers will be available for pickup at the Recreation Center at the start of the challenge. Students who cannot pick up their pedometers may use their own or track their steps on any smartphone app.

Students are allowed to participate in the challenge alone or in groups of two or three. Participants will record their steps online for the challenge and receive updates on who is in the lead.

When signing up, participants will have to choose a category to compete in. The Iris category is for students walking 70,000 steps a week. The Sunflower category is for students walking 70,000-85,000 steps a week. The Orchid category is for students walking 85,000100,000 steps a week.

The winners of each category will win prizes that may be picked up at the Recreation Center or mailed to off-campus winners. There will also be prizes given during the event for special challenges.

Intramural Sports and Special Events Coordinator Shana Kessler encouraged participating students to be mindful of their surroundings and wear bright colors when walking early or late in the day.

The challenge comes at a time when most students are emerging from lifting restrictions.

“It’s a super fun and easy way to do something with your friends,” Kessler said.

Based on previous years the expected turnout for the Wildcats on the Move Walking Challenge is 150 participants.