Let My Spieker Grow! NCAA Says No to Live Fans at 2021 Women’s Water Polo Championship
It’s a tempest, but not in a teapot. It has to do with water polo, the NCAA and COVID-19.
The story: starting today, the 2021 NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship will take place at UCLA’s Spieker Aquatics Center. Because of the coronavirus, it’s the first women’s polo championship since 2019. There’s excitement layered on the significance of a women’s tournament taking place. Meaning that many folks in the Golden State want to watch this tournament in person.
[2021 NCAA Women’s Tournament Bracket: An MPSF Affair (again)]
But, the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Committee announced on May 8 that—due to COVID-19 protocols set by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health—NO FANS will be allowed in Spieker during the first three days of the tournament. This despite a lifting of requirements on May 5 that would allow as much as 67% attendance at outdoor venues.
Do the math; if the facility has a listed capacity of 2,500 and the new health provisions are applied, that means as many as 1,675 fans in the Spieker seats. Or, more than enough for all the families of athletes from the ten teams involved as well as any polo fans who REALLY wants to see a live women’s championship.
Or so one would think.
If you drill down in the statement released by Greg Johnson, the NCAA’s Associate Director of Communications, you get this language:
If fans attended the preliminary rounds, the venue would have to be cleaned to meet local health and safety protocols, creating a delay of at least two hours between games. This could have caused the final quarterfinal game to be played after 10 p.m. Pacific time on Friday.
The committee thinks having a game end that late creates a competitive equity issue for the advancing team because it would not have enough recovery time before playing in the national semifinals of the tournament the next day. The game times for the semifinals could not be moved due to the time needed for COVID-19 testing protocols and practice times. Again, there is concern about adequate and equitable recovery time for the teams that reach the championship game.
As I read it, this is a cleaning issue (!)—as in, the Spieker staff needs enough turnaround time to ensure the facility is thoroughly cleaned prior to each match. In the case of Friday’s four quarterfinals, the last match might start at 10 p.m. Whoever is in this late night affair might be at a disadvantage for the next day’s semifinal.
Sure, I suppose. But after waiting two years for a championship, does a late start really matter that much? These are athletes used to playing two matches a day (or more) in age group play; I just don’t see the point of denying families (and others) of the opportunity to watch because one game will be late.
Or, as the folk(s) from WaterpoloSpreads posted recently on Twitter: “Come on man... are we supposed to accept this? Buy tickets in-advance with proof of vaccination, bring vaccine card, check temperature before entry, keep mask on.”
I agree!
The NCAA did backtrack on this yesterday, allowing players’ families into the stands for the championship final. Why not the semis? How much cleaning do they need to do anyway?
In a moment when so many welcome the opportunity to feel good about something, it seems to me that common sense says: “Let them in and let them play.” Oh, and hire a few extra folks to clean—or ask spectators to be extra careful to clean up for themselves. The NCAA might be amazed what families and fans can do when they pull together (I mean, isn’t that what teamwork is all about?!)