To Whom it may concern:

As a coalition of St. Louis County High Schools, both public and private, we are writing to
express concern about the potential cancellation of fall sports.

We have met with the St. Louis Sports Medicine Covid-19 Task Force in regard to
Youth Return to Sports to review the evidence on this topic locally, regionally, and
nationally. Every Tuesday, the Task Force, composed of local experts across a variety
of disciplines relevant to Covid-19 and sports medicine, reviews the current state of
Covid cases in St Louis County and the surrounding areas. Additionally, the Task Force
analyzes the scientific data across our country, the state of Missouri, and most
importantly St. Louis County. Based on this data analysis, the health care professionals
on the Task Force have developed and adjusted youth return to sports
recommendations. The weekly review of data provides a quick pivot point when needed
to ensure these are data driven decisions based on the health of our community.

Upon review of the current evidence on the current state in St. Louis county, we feel
that cancellation of fall sports for moderate and high-level contact sports is not currently
supported by evidence. Examining the summer and the start of the fall data in our
region, there has been no evidence of Covid-19 spread during/from an athletic event by
the participants of high school sports. High School Coaches and Directors of Athletics
have prevented the spread within their school athletic programs for months by following
appropriate guidelines for screening, participation, and quarantine of exposures related
to Covid positive athletes that have been infected from activities outside of sports.
Collectively, this represents thousands of athletes participating in sports activities on
campus over the last several months, without a single case of sports related
transmission. Additionally, trends in recent weeks support declining numbers of cases in
the high school age group.

Through ongoing conversations with colleagues in St. Charles county they have made it
clear their high schools have successively navigated the pathway from practices to full
games for fall sports. This also collectively represents thousands of athletes without a
single sports-related transmission due to diligent practices at these schools.

Our schools have followed guidelines from the St. Louis County Health Department,
including notification of cases, assistance with immediate contact tracing, and
appropriate quarantine of exposed individuals. Schools want to continue to build a
relationship where we can work together for the betterment of the St Louis community.

At this time, we agree with the evidence supporting the current Task Force guidelines
and recommendations. We believe it is in the best interest of student-athletes in St.
Louis County for our High Schools to align with and follow the guidelines presented by
the Task Force due to the wealth of medical expertise within their group. We hope that
St. Louis County will align with these evidence-based recommendations. Their
recommendations are detailed and specific, giving our school communities the direction
to provide students the best opportunities to compete safely and see the health and
wellness benefits that come with athletic participation.

Sincerely,

“Insert Signature Here”

“Insert School Name Here”

“Insert AD/Superintendent/HOS Name Here”
St. Louis County High School