City Schools of Decatur’s central office finally cleared varsity sports football, softball and cross country to begin competing in games and meets.
Play began almost immediately after teams were given the go-ahead late last week. Decatur High’s softball team played at St. Pius Thursday afternoon (Oct. 1), while the football team beat Arabia Mountain (also playing its opener) 22-7 on Oct. 2. The cross country team had its opening meet Oct. 2 in Douglasville, with softball playing its second game Oct. 2 against Southwest DeKalb.
Each get truncated seasons, but none more than softball which, weather permitting, will play only five of its normal 25-game regular season.
Football will play seven (of 10) regular season games, but only three at the Decatur High Stadium including the Oct. 16 home opener vs. Lithonia, also the scheduled homecoming.
For Decatur football this marks the 100th consecutive season playing games at the same location between McDonough Street and Commerce Drive (formerly Oliver Street).
During a recent interview CSD’s Athletics and Activities Director Rodney Thomas outlined some of the quirky features of the 2020 fall season:
*For the football home opener, only 500 to 600 spectators will be allowed inside the 4500-seat Decatur High Stadium. That number, Thomas said, could increase in final two home games.
*Parents of players get first bid on tickets, and each player is allowed only two tickets max.
*Only 75 to 100 tickets go to visiting teams.
*Concessions won’t be sold within the stadium and the ticket booths won’t open. All ticket purchases are online only. For each home game Decatur will provide separate ticket-purchasing links for Decatur High football parents, visiting team representatives and the general public. To find tickets all fans are asked to check websites https://decaturbulldogboosters.org/and https://decaturbulldogsathletics.com/.
*No fans are allowed inside DeKalb County stadiums, where Decatur plays all its remaining away games.
*Masks are mandatory at home games, and seats will be marked for social distancing.
*Visiting team band and cheerleaders aren’t allowed inside the Decatur Stadium. Decatur’s band and cheerleaders won’t travel and will only perform in the stands during home games. The band won’t perform any halftime shows on the field.
*Since Decatur’s softball team plays at Oakhurst Park, a city park where social gathering isn’t allowed, no fans are allowed to attend.
*Cross Country’s home meets are at Legacy Park, also owned by the city, but Thomas says he’s working with city officials to allow some spectators since they will be spread out.
*Some, perhaps all games and meets will be streamed live. If available, streaming links can be found at the two websites listed above.
About the Author
