March 19, 2021
Games for volleyball, boys and girls soccer, and football will start next week. Due to the higher risk nature of volleyball being inside, no spectators will be allowed to watch those games in person. We will livestream home volleyball games and believe most of our opponents plan to livestream as well. Go to
https://www.oxac.org/Athletics.aspx for the livestream links.
For football and soccer games, due to Covid restrictions, only 2 spectators will be allowed per player on each team (home and the away). Each spectator will be required to sign in with a site chaperone, answer the Covid screening questions and wear a mask while on school grounds. Not all of our opponents are allowing visiting team spectators at their home events so please check with your student athlete to find out if you can attend an away game before driving there and being turned away. While all of us would like to get back to normal, the way it was before Covid, we must keep the safety of our student athletes and community members our first priority. Allowing limited attendance at sporting events is a step in the right direction. We hope all adults will adhere to the rules as there will be no exceptions.
I’d like to take a moment and give everyone updated information about Oxford Athletics. Our high risk winter sports are under way at the jv and varsity level, they began practicing last week and will start having games next week. The Chenango County Covid 19 positivity rate for testing has dropped below the 4% mark which was the number needed to move forward with interscholastic sports without the need for weekly testing of athletes. We are excited to be able to offer our athletes games against some of our neighboring schools however, things will be different than normal.
In order to provide a safe opportunity we are following the guidance of the MAC League, Chenango County Department of Health and NYSPHSAA. Per those guidelines, spectators will not be allowed to be in attendance except for parents of senior players on senior night. We ask that you do not attend the games in person, we will be offering games via livestream if you would like to watch them online. To watch online, go to the school website, www.oxac.org, under the word Departments, click on athletics and at the bottom of the page is a link that reads “live stream Oxford sports”.
As a lifelong participant, parent, coach and administrator of Oxford sports, I know we all wish we could be in the gym to watch the kids in person but that is just not possible at this time. If you are able to watch the games online, I’m sure the athletes will be grateful.
All of our games are listed on the Schedule Galaxy website which is also linked from our athletics page.
Schedule Galaxy: https://www.schedulegalaxy.com/schools/159
At the middle school level, we are offering some after school intramural activities which kids can sign up for and participate in. These include boys and girls basketball, volleyball, and indoor track.
The season for traditional fall sports will begin March 8, 2021 and ends April 25, 2021. We anticipate offering modified through varsity level teams in boys and girls soccer, volleyball, and football during that time. A sign up form will be coming to all students in grades 7-12 via the Athletics google classroom this week.
If you have any questions you can contact me at [email protected].
Tim Davis
Athletic Director
Oxford Academy & Central School
Update January 2021: High-risk winter sports:
The Midstate Athletic Conference (MAC) has postponed the start of its high-risk winter sports programs until February 8, pending further guidance from the Department of Health of the four counties that encompass our league.
Delaware and Otsego County Public Health announced Thursday that high-risk winter sports – basketball, volleyball and wrestling – cannot resume locally until the county’s seven-day rolling positivity for Coronavirus is at or below 4.0 percent. Those counties have not met that criteria in several weeks and thus schools in those counties are on hold.
Chenango County’s guiding document includes weekly COVID testing of all athletes, coaches and other individuals associated directly with the teams. These details along with many others have yet to be worked out.
Lastly, if or when the season begins, it is likely that no spectators will be allowed in attendance at games and/or practices for the duration of the season.
Thank you for your patience.
John Hillis
Superintendent