COVID-19 has put many aspects of life on hold, and school sports have been no exception. As sports at Rockbridge County High School began to prepare for their seasons, precautions have been made to make sure students can safely participate in these sports. 

Sophomore Dee Montgomery is a third-year marching band student and has thoroughly read through the safety guidelines about returning to sports. They are ready to begin rehearsing for their new season. 

“We must socially distance at all times, and masks must be kept on as well. For students whose instruments have bells, a special cover called MERV-13 covers will remain on their instruments,” said Montogmery. “These MERV-13 covers will help prevent any possible spread of COVID-19 through instruments.” 

Strict rules about rehearsals locations have also been added. 

“We will not have any rehearsals in any one space for a prolonged period of time,” said Montgomery. “Then, each practice space will sit for an hour before we return to it.”

Marching band drills have also been changed to adhere to social distancing guidelines. 

“Drills have been set up adhering to social distancing guidelines, so no one will be less than six feet away from each other,” said Montgomery. “Instruments and Colorguard equipment will not be shared, and no physical contact will be allowed between students at all.” 

Scheduling has differed from past years due to safety reasons. Instead, an alternate schedule where half of the marching will practice on separate days have been put in place. 

“Our schedule has also changed due to COVID-19 this year,” said Montgomery. “We will not be attending any competitions this year, and we will not be performing at football games.”

Students will also not be able to attend rehearsals like they normally would. Instead, an alternate schedule of rehearsals has been put in place. 

“Instead, A day school students will have rehearsals on Monday, and B day students will have rehearsals on Thursdays. Then, every other week, everyone will come together for one big rehearsal on Friday,” said Montgomery. 

Even if there are no competitions, a final performance is planned, where students get to showcase their performance. 

“At the end of the season in April, we will have a show for guests, where we will get to show off all of the skills we have learned,” said Montgomery.