Jeff Graham: Postseason plans for winter sports remain unpredictable

When the winter sports season began a couple months ago, I kept asking West Sound coaches if they had an idea of what the postseason would look like. I did so keeping in mind that, for one, there were no winter sports playoffs in 2020, and second, COVID-19 protocols have generally been more strict for indoor sports such as basketball and wrestling.

If I could choose one word to describe the feedback I received, it would be unpredictable. Things still feel that way as he head toward the end of the regular season.

"Good question," North Kitsap boys basketball coach Scott Orness responded when I asked him last week about how the pandemic could alter the postseason landscape. "It's going to be interesting."

Let's not pretend COVID outbreaks didn't affect high school teams in the fall. Positive test cases caused numerous teams at various schools to postpone/cancel regular season contests. But as far as I know, outbreaks didn't result in any postseason interruptions.

This winter, with the emergence of omicron, the number of nixed games has only increased. Pick any school you want and I'll show you how outbreaks have torn game schedules to shreds.

Bremerton girls basketball? The Knights headed into Thursday's road game against North Mason having played a total of five times in the span of seven weeks since the season began. Olympic's boys wrestling team? The Trojans entered the week having competed in one tournament and one double dual. Crosspoint boys basketball coach Derrin Doty said the Warriors had six consecutive games cancelled at one point before the team beat Sequim on Jan. 14.

On Thursday, Central Kitsap's wrestling team dropped its first league match of the season against Yelm. The Cougars weren't at full strength.

"We had to give up four forfeits due to COVID and injury," Cougars coach Mike Schmitt said.

Changes have been made this season to try to combat the rising COVID tide. Midway through the season, the state altered testing requirements for high-contact sports (basketball, wrestling) from two to three times a week, regardless of vaccination status. Recently, schools have begun instituting a no-spectator policy for certain events.

When Central Kitsap and Bainbridge held wrestling tournaments the past two weeks, no fans were allowed. The same will be true for Saturday's South Kitsap wrestling tournament.

All this has me believing we're going to be in for a roller-coaster of a postseason.

Let's look at things from a venue standpoint. In December, the state department of health reported that wrestling tournaments triggered several outbreaks across the state. Dr. Scott Lindquist, the state epidemiologist communicable diseases, responded by telling news media that he doesn't see how larger tournaments can be held without triggering similar outbreaks. Now, small wrestling tournaments are being closed to spectators.

So how exactly is the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association going to make Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome work in Feb. 18-19? There's no bigger wrestling tournament in the state. Will fans be allowed to attend? If not, how much of a financial hit is that going to be for WIAA?

Personally, I wonder if the state might opt to downsize the tournament or separate it into different venues (4A goes here, 3A goes there, and so on). That might be safer than trying to squeeze thousands of athletes and fans into one location for two days.

State basketball is another question mark. I've been to Yakima for the 2A tournament for several years running and the Yakima Valley SunDome is another venue that typically packs the house over the course of four days. There's plenty of people traffic between teams and spectators, and reporters are usually working elbow to elbow on press row. I can't imagine that type of setup is going to be allowed this year.

What about teams and athletes? What happens if a basketball team has an outbreak two days before a playoff tournament? What happens if a wrestling team has an outbreak three days before Mat Classic?

It seems like game over at that point, no?

North Kitsap wrestling coach Robert Gomez told me this week it might not be the best teams that win championships this winter.

"It's whoever quarantines the best," he said.

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself here, folks. Maybe this omicron wave will slow down soon and the postseason will proceed without many hiccups. I'd like to be able to return to Mat Classic to see our top grapplers compete in a normal championship environment. I want to see if North Kitsap's boys basketball team can add another title to the one it captured in 2020. I'd love to look at a playoff schedule without having to double- and triple-check that a game is actually going to be played.

What's the saying? Hope for the best, plan for the worst?

Jeff Graham covers high school sports for the Kitsap Sun. Reach him at jgraham@kitsapsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Jeff Graham: Postseason plans for winter sports remain unpredictable