Following the announcement by Governor Charlie Baker and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) on Monday, the MIAA’s Sports Medicine Committee voted unanimously to recommend the approval of the state’s new guidelines surrounding mandatory mask-wearing effective Tuesday (May 18).

In a statement, the MIAA said the recommendation was “forwarded to MIAA President Jeffrey Granatino, MIAA Executive Director Bill Gaine and Task Force Chairs, Thom Holdgate and Dr. Keith Crowley. Commissioner Jeffrey Riley and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) also reviewed this recommendation. All constituents provided full approval.”

Final decisions will ultimately lie with individual districts, as the statement from the MIAA specifically mentioned that “the final decision for a school to partake in a particular sport and/or to follow more stringent guidelines belongs at the local level.”

Turners Falls High School tweeted Tuesday afternoon that for “anyone attending an athletic event at the TFHS Complex, masks MUST be worn until our policy gets changed by the [School Committee]!!! This includes players, coaches, officials and spectators.”

Effective immediately, the MIAA guidelines state that:

· Athletes on spring teams in active play outdoors are not required to wear a mask/facial covering.

· Athletes when they are on the bench or in a dugout are not required to wear a mask/facial covering.

· Athletes in low-risk sports when indoors where a distance of at least 14 feet or more is consistently maintained between each participant, are not required to wear a mask/ facial covering.

· Spectators and chaperones, coaches, staff, referees, umpires and other officials who can social distance while outdoors, are not required to wear a mask/face covering.

· Visitors, spectators, volunteers, and staff while indoors are required to wear mask/facial covering.

· All athletes participating in high school sports are considered youth, and fall under youth guidelines.

The MIAA also said that there are no changes to individual sport modifications other than the mask/facial covering mandate. “As restrictions are lifted, a review of the EEA guidelines will continue through the MIAA governance process guided by the MIAA Sports Medicine Committee,” the statement concluded.