Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio is among the latest wave of schools and conferences to announce the cancellation of fall athletics.
They are joined by Division III Centennial Conference and Division II PSAC Conference, which made similar announcements this week.
“With the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, especially among young people, we cannot continue to plan for a return to competitive athletics this fall,” Kenyon said in announcing the decision. Intercollegiate athletics competition will be canceled for the remainder of the 2020 calendar year. This is the right decision for the well-being of our entire Kenyon community. We appreciate your patience throughout this process, and we understand that for our student-athletes in particular, this news may be especially hard to take.”
Simultaneously, Kenyon announced that they would offer a mix of in-person and remote instruction, with students being welcomed back to campus on a rotating basis. First-years, sophomores, and new transfer students will be on campus for the fall semester, along with all international students. The school says it hopes to have all students back on campus in the spring, though it’s waiting to make a final decision about that.
Kenyon is breaking from the broader NCAC conference, which includes another swimming powerhouse Denison. The NCAC has said that September 18th is the first permissible contest date and that schools will play conference-only schedules and try to eliminate overnight travel.
Kenyon administrators said that they “do not know yet what lies ahead for our winter and spring sports seasons at Kenyon,” but that all intercollegiate athletics competition is canceled for the remainder of the 2020 calendar year.
While no decisions have been made on the future of winter sports seasons like swimming, this means that fall sports seasons for cross country, field hockey, football, golf, soccer, tennis, and volleyball will not be held.
The school has committed that, following NCAA guidelines, teams will be able to continue to practice and work out on campus through the fall. They did, however, say that they would not make an exception to the above rules regarding which students would be on campus for which semesters for athletes. In short, junior and senior swimmers at Kenyon won’t likely be able to train with the team until after the fall semester, at the earliest, unless they are international students.
That means swimmers like NCAA D3 Champions and Record breakers David Fitch and Crile Hart won’t be on campus training with the team this fall, among others. Both are rising seniors.
There is increasing national momentum, with several conferences having canceled fall athletics, toward moving all Division III swimming programs to a spring-only season.
MIT and the NESCAC conference, both significant players in Division III swimming, have also canceled their fall sports seasons. Franklin & Marshall head coach Ben Delia penned an editorial this week on SwimSwam advocating for the shift to a fully-spring season after his conference, the Centennial Conference, also canceled fall semester sports.
The Kenyon men’s swimming & diving team won a record-setting 31 consecutive NCAA DIvision III swimming and diving championships from 1980 through 2010, adding 3 more from 2013 to 2015 for 34 total titles.
The Kenyon women have won 23 total titles, which is nearly-double Emory’s 12 for the 2nd-most in D3 history. The Kenyon women’s latest title came in 2009, with Emory running off 10 consecutive titles since.
Kenyon College is located in Knox County in Ohio. With a population of about 61,000 northwest of the capital of Columbus, Knox County has seen relatively-few cases of coronavirus. So far, the area has had only 59 positive tests and 1 death caused by COVID-19. While the state as a whole has seen an increase in cases over the last month, Knox County continues to see very few new cases.
The conservative banshee shrieking on these boards from time to time remind me of how affluent and white this sports tends to run
I agree with Ol’ Longhorn. This is really tough on the athletes. Whether it’s Kenyon or Bowdoin or Williams, all of their athletes play sports for the “love of game”. No NCAA Division III are on athletic scholarships. The individual challenges and the team experience are the sole rewarding consequences that their athletes enjoy. Their conference meets are fun and, for some, the NCAA Championships are an extra special bonus.
I a case like the one we’re faced with now, it would be nice if schools were able to plan each team’s season on a sport by sport basis. Some sports (swimming, tennis, golf, and cross country, for example) can be done relatively safely. Not so, some other sports (let’s… Read more »
Hi. Please hop off of this article and take it elsewhere to have political conversations about a global pandemic. It’s likely that my swimming career is over because of people being ignorant. Thank you.
bUt ThAt WaS yOuR cHoIcE tO eNd YoUr SwImMiNg CaReER
what’s that supposed to mean?
We feel you. Don’t give up yet. We hold you to a higher standard than that because we know what you’re capable of.
I feel for these kids and hurts to see these programs shutting down for the fall.
And then suddenly the SwimSwam fans turned into virologists!
It appears a bunch of people have gotten their PhD in Epidemiology in the past few weeks
Bunch of Doogie Howsers be out here
Political virologists. The article is about Kenyon. Zero comments thus far referencing Kenyon or the disappointed kids on the swim team.
This needs about 10x the amount of upvotes it has.
Well, as the parent of two collegiate swimmers (a former d1 and a current d3) — BOTH of whom have been sick with confirmed cases of covid 19, I can attest that a) the virus is NOT a hoax and b) things are moving so quickly in terms of what we are learning about the virus that our understanding of the ramifications of it is just coalescing.
1. We do not know the long term issues this virus will cause, but we are starting to see evidence of neurological issues, cognitive issues, heart and lung damage, chronic fatigue and more.
2. It really is not about underlying issues, per se – they certainly do not help, but as our former… Read more »
Your last sentence is spot on. Thanks for your perspective and hope everyone feels better soon in your family!!!
Personal responsibility and assumption of risk are key.
But you’d dispute her three points.
I dispute none of her points. I seek to amplify her personal conclusion. As someone who has been through the situation, her voice seems very credible.
haha, always stirring it up
The Ol horn is always saucy and fired up about something.
If people would stop for a second and consider what the schools are facing for logistics and the risks, I think they’d be a little more forgiving. For Kenyon, we’re talking about a volleyball team, football team, two soccer teams, two cross country teams, and field hockey team impacted (so far). If one student-athlete has coronavirus on an away game day, what are the chances of them spreading to their teammates during a bus/van ride to the competition? That isn’t even considering spreading it to the other team. What is the rest of the season going to look like if even a quarter of your student-athletes on a given team test positive at once? You certainly can’t take them to… Read more »
Now do the flu …. or any other virus. Would we take these same measures? Or Covid is truly that special/tragic? Use actual data for the demographics involved in building your case.
Your logic is good but based on false assumptions.
You ever heard of a flu shot? Comparison is out the window right there.
And yet in the under 24 demographic the flu is more deadly and has more adverse consequences than Covid. And that’s with a flu shot!
Protect the at risk (basically those over 60) to the maximum extent possible and again it’s also their choice if they don’t want that maximum level of protection.
Source?
Again, if you don’t think the under 24 demographic is “at risk,” that they’ll all just be fine, you are incredibly misinformed and are determined to stay that way.
Do you hate data? Is your life one big anecdote? Point out where my statement was false comparing outcomes in the under 24 demographic to the flu.
This data from the CDC seems to support that claim for under 24 if you add in the measurements to the visualization chart:
https://data.cdc.gov/d/9bhg-hcku/visualization
data where?
Do your own research. This stuff has been out there for months now. But you don’t like data:
https://mobile.twitter.com/Avik/status/1262485481532637186
Quit going off feelings or what the media told you to feel. Evaluate the actual risk.
Twitter?
That data is assuming 150,000 covid deaths for the year which is not over yet
It also combines influenza and pneumonia deaths. Some of these pneumonia deaths are unrelated to flu
I work with big data and trust the facts from multiple sources and facts that add up. You haven’t quoted one reliable source just your wild made up theories
https://www.countynewscenter.com/more-young-san-diegans-getting-sick-hospitalized-due-to-covid-19/
As younger folks get out of the house and into the community more, their hospitalization rates are starting to rise.
I’ve seen multiple people cite the low numbers of fatalities (under 400 in the US) of the under 24 demographic, so why do you take the opposite position and claim others are incredibly misinformed?
Ribbon, Did you not read what has been written about what is being learned about long term effects? Dead is not the only bad option here. Scarred lungs. Extended crippling fatigue. Damaged heart. I don’t see a lot of studies about those outcomes post flu infection. Death rate should NOT be the measuring stick!
A college campus is not comprised solely of people under 24. Schools can mitigate the flu well enough by encouraging their campus to get flu shots and know what the long term effects of flu going around campus will be. They do not have a similar mechanism for Coronavirus. As the initial comment talked about, colleges do not have a good understanding of what the effects of coronavirus will be on their student body beyond a death count. It’s also worth noting that most of the data we have about that age range is in an environment outside of the college campus. So please forgive a residential liberal arts college that has a student body that lives mostly in dorms… Read more »
I forgive them. While I personally question their decision they are a private institution and can choose to go down this path. Their students will vote with their tuition. I expect others to have the same attitude (forgiveness) for schools that choose to do sports.
The premise that there is a choice for people (basically those over 60) is incorrect. Not to mention the vagaries of defining protection to the maximum extent possible.
” flu is more deadly and has more adverse consequences than Covid”
also gravity is stronger on the moon and we are getting younger with age
Stop twisting words. I very clearly identified the demographic I was talking about.
140k have died in the last few months despite the country ostensibly being shut down. If any other virus did that, then yes I believe it reasonable to assume we would take similar measures. No one knows what those numbers would look like had we not shut down, but i think it’s safe to assert it would have been much worse.
The premise that just because the mortality is lower for younger age groups that those groups should continue to go about their days unhindered is flawed. If they lived in a bubble, then fine. Unfortunately, they do not.
Here is your quote from above: “I dispute none of her points. I seek to amplify her personal conclusion. As someone who has been through the situation, her voice seems very credible.”
The post that you commented on was emphasizing that covid is different / special and we still don’t fully know in what ways.
As ol’ longhorn stated you would dispute the 3 points that were presented as indicated here
I didn’t get that from his statement. I think brol and the horn are jumping to conclusions on what this guy is supporting and not supporting about her statement.
He saw that she used the phrase “personal responsibility” and got all excited. What he doesn’t seem to realize is that the comment strongly implies that this pandemic has proven we can’t rely on people to take personal responsibility.
Did the medicos happen tell you the PEs were the result of the virus, a symptom of not moving around enough (i.e. blood pools in your veins if you lay in bed for too long, which can lead to PEs), or they could not rule either out?
Dave –
Yes, the blood clots formed IN her lungs (they were not DVTs that moved from, say, her legs) and they 100% consider them covid caused. If you google covid and blood clots you will see what I am talking about.
https://www.sciencealert.com/covid-19-patient-autopsies-show-blood-clots-in-almost-every-organ-pathologist-says
and
https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/autopsies-indicate-blood-clots-are-lethal-in-covid-19-67727
and
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/coronavirus/what-23-year-old-thought-was-a-heart-attack-was-actually-complications-from-covid-19/2405757/
etc
In fact, a number of medical people I’ve spoken to are urging that doctors start covid positive on blood thinners immediately. When our daughter landed in the ICU the first time they actually have her blood thinner shots. But for some reason did not send her home on thinners. It was only a couple of days later that she landed back in the ICU with the clots.
SWIMMOMFL–I hope your kids are doing okay, and will be okay. After reading your initial post, it was really the first time I thought hard about how this could affect my own kids. Many of us are in a situation where our kids (and swimmers) will be returning to school and their teams. I worry a lot about Covid-19, but more how kids can infect others who are older and more vulnerable. I worry about their grandparents, parents, teachers, professors, and coaches, but hadn’t really worried about them since they are young, active, and healthy. While I’m still pretty much isolating at home, my kids are back to practice, work, hanging out with friends, and will be back to school… Read more »
Thanks Swimfan5… hope your kids’ stay healthy and actually get to enjoy our sport uninterrupted this season. I have a rising senior swimmer in d3 who has been looking forward to all the trappings of senior year academically and athletically since she picked her school four years ago, and my heart aches for these kids who are missing out on so much. At the same time, I am truly sick of the ER, ICU, unknowns and constant stress of dealing with this &*^&^ virus. I just wish we would all be a whole lot nicer to each other and respect the different viewpoints. I know ours has changed in the past four weeks!
It has been shown that covid causes a hypercoagulable state. Clots are being found in multiple organs
Yes! Hypercoagulable. That is the word. Sorry, not a lot of sleep going on here with all this craziness.
That is understandable. Sorry to hear all that you and your family are going through. I wish everyone a full and hopefully quick recovery.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Thank you… it has been both fascinating and terrifying at the same time, believe me.
I can’t imagine why this would ever get a negative vote
https://journals.lww.com/ccmjournal/Citation/2018/01001/456__INFLUENZA_B_INDUCED_CATASTROPHIC.422.aspx
Hope you and your family find your way to the other side of this and that you all can return to good health! Every number on a graph is a person. Policy decisions should be made with that in mind. Thank you for sharing your personal experience.
We’ve hit the second wave …. of groupthink.
“This is a level of hysteria that feels like I’m in a Kafka novel… People all over the world are stunned that we are willing to destroy our children out of some bizarre notion that is completely contrary to the science.”
Dr Scott Atlas
I will send my kids back to school as soon as Baron Trump goes to the same class
You probably need to figure out a way to come up with the private school tuition to go to his school.
that’s not what I said, but you knew that. This administration tells us to go back to school, tell us too much testing is the problem, yet they test twice a day and they will in no way send their kids into an unsafe environment that they force the rest of us into. The hypocrisy is outrageous.
Where is your source that supports your claim that “they test twice a day?”
The beauty of it is, you are allowed to hold your kids out. But don’t impose that on all kids.
And why do people like you say “don’t politicize this” but then bring Trump in to it to make an argument? The cognitive dissonance is insane.
The thing is – there are some of us in the middle. Who want to be able to be able to send our kids to mitigated risk situations, like swim practices with 3-per-lane, but that decision becomes a lot harder when there are people like you floating around, who are pushing your kids into situations where they’ll probably get the coronavirus just to prove a point.
So, you’re basically a corona-bully. By demanding that you get the freedom to make your own choices, you’re forcing choices onto the rest of us.
AND THIS IS WHY LAWS AND GOVERNMENTS EXIST :-). Because “everyone makes their own choices” really means that “some people get to make their own choices and other people… Read more »
The beauty of the free market is you can always find someone that will offer a product you like. Don’t bully me in to your thoughts just because I disagree with you. There are many options for schools and swim clubs.
the horror of the free market is that some people preach that it has a solution for everything. No it doesn’t. And there was no bullying, you are just imagining that.
One positive out of this post is that you advocate the Law which means you aren’t in the defund camp.
A corona-bully…is that bad thing?
I don’t politicize this, Trump does. HE forces school openings, he calls mask wearing anti-republican to the point of discouraging social distancing, he sent equipment and masks disproportionally to states that voted for him. he turned the fight against the virus into an us vs them issue. I as a citizen and tax payer have the right to expect that the leader leads by example and he does the opposite
TDS. But this “isn’t about politics” Sam!!
He is too tall for school.
The article below makes an interesting point that Millenials believe they are at a high risk than what Seniors do:
“When asked by the four researchers, who hail from Harvard, Oxford, and Università Bocconi, out of “1,000 people very similar to you” how many would die from COVID-19 over the next nine weeks, the median estimated guess by respondents aged 18-34 was 20, or 2%. In other words, the average Millennial thought that 2% of everyone like them would die within nine weeks from the virus. In contrast, in contrast, the respondents aged 70 years or older, which is exponentially more at risk, asses their risk of dying at about 1%.
What is the infection fatality rate (IFR) for younger… Read more »
CA Lawyer? What explains their irrational fear in your opinion? Social media or other factors?
HISWIMCOACH, sorry that wasn’t my opinion. It was a quote from an article in the conservative review. I would post the link, but the moderators wouldn’t allow such a thing.
it’s not that hard to post a link, there are many ways that it won’t be flagged if you wanted to post one
Or even point out the publication, date, author and let people find it themselves. I suppose they could also google the quote.
I have come to the realization that I am an extremist, and possibly tone deaf. Here in OH, the confirmed cases continue to rise but the # of hospitalizations & deaths are not spiking, especially in the under 24 demo’s. And yes, to respect others, I do wear a mask when out at the post office, barber, grocery…but the data I see does not warrant closing down schools & athletics — in my opinion that is.
You are correct that the data has not shown a rise in deaths in Ohio.
However, data from the state of Ohio does show a rise in hospitalizations, though it is a much more gradual rise than the rise in new cases: https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/dashboards/key-metrics/hospitalizations
I don’t think you are an extremist, but a calm and responsible individual. If more people act the way you do, we would be in a much better shape now. Extremists on both sides, esp those who politicize the pandemic, have created more problems, perhaps more serious than Covid-19, than the virus itself.
Kenyon’s student body is national and international, a relatively small percentage of the students are from Ohio. MIT, the NESCAC, and the Centennial schools are also in a similar position. So just looking at Ohio cases isn’t a good risk assessment from Kenyon’s point of view.
Per Nathan Smith’s point, here’s a map about where Kenyon students came from in 2016-2017 (this was the most recent data I could find). https://www.kenyon.edu/directories/offices-services/institutional-research/data-gallery/current-student-home-states-and-countries/
Total enrollment in 2016-2017 was about 1700. About 15% were from Ohio – more than from anywhere else, but still far less than most schools see from their home state. Next-biggest group is from California.
96% are Americans, 4% are international students. That’s actually a far lower rate of international students than many (most?) big state schools – nearby Ohio State, for example, has almost 11% international students. Michigan has 15%. Texas is about 10%.
Somewhat related, but in Florida there are now reports that some labs are reporting back positives in 100% of the cases while the number is actually around 10%. There’s a lot of information to digest and it’s hard to determine what the actual risk is.
https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/fox-35-investigates-florida-department-of-health-says-some-labs-have-not-reported-negative-covid-19-results
That would impact the “positive test rate” more than it would impact the gross numbers – the insinuation is that they’re basically not reporting the negatives, rather than they’re reporting every test they take as a positive. And, of course, the positive test rate is crucial, as it helps us partially differentiate between increases in raw numbers caused by increases in testing or increases in raw numbers caused by increases in spread.
You’re right – we don’t know what that means yet. Is that a significant percentage of tests being reported? Have they been mis-reported since day 1? If they’ve been mis-reported since day 1, then the general upward trend of % positive rate is probably still valid. If these… Read more »
Sounds like you’re catching the conspiracy theories going around on FB and other social media outlets. Had a neighbor repeat the same thing to me. Have you hear the one about the friend that is a hospital administrator who says that they are being forced to classify deaths as COVID-related in order to get more federal money? IALTO. (Never mind the federal felony it would be to perpetuate such a scheme.)
Speaking of Ohio. Here is an attorney from Ohio:
https://www.outkick.com/the-case-to-open-schools-and-sports/
Great article and I couldn’t agree more. It’s hard to believe this is not about something more than our students and athletes health. The effects of closure are being disregarded. The data shows the best way for our society to move forward is to open our schools and return to competition