College athletes make a plea to governor for restriction flexibility
Justin Martinez
LAS CRUCES – Athletes from New Mexico's five Division I and II universities banded together on Monday to formally ask Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for flexibility on the state's COVID-safe practice protocols.
Presidents and vice presidents of the Student Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC) at New Mexico State, New Mexico, Western New Mexico, Eastern New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands presented a three-page letter to the governor.
The letter details their proposed "modest changes" to a set of requirements that has left them as some of the few programs in the country unable to practice or compete.
The full document can be found at the bottom of the article, but here are the SAAC representatives' three proposals.
A change in COVID-19 testing protocols
The state currently requires teams to conduct three PCR tests per week, which will continue throughout the course of competition season. This is different from the NCAA's requirement of three PCR or POC tests per week beginning one week before the start of competition.
A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is essentially a nasal swab test, while a point-of-care (POC) test is a rapid test that's more financially feasible for programs, especially those at the DII level.
While the SAAC representatives asserted that each university is committed to taking three tests per week during competition seasons, they ask that the state mirror NCAA protocol by including POC testing rather than PCR only.
"Given that all of our institutions are able and currently following NCAA and conference mandates of three PCR or POC tests for in-season sports, our proposal would meet current recommendations with a simple change in testing type requirements," the letter stated. "This recommendation will provide student-athletes with more opportunities to participate in their designated sports."
An increase in allowed participants
As it stands, team practices are limited to 25% of an indoor practice facility or to a maximum of five people, which is the state's standing public health order.
The SAAC representatives cite this as a rule that "hinders performance standards" and "greatly diminishes team unity."
As a result, they've asked the governor to consider raising this maximum participation to between 50 and 75% capacity within enclosed monitored practice spaces and athletic training facilities.
"Understanding that safety is still a concern, this increase would allow us to practice properly and reflect realistic competition settings," the letter stated. "Additionally, this would allow for a full number of field/court players which reduces our risk of injury, and builds team unity."
Taking university rates into consideration
The state currently requires universities to be in a county with a 14-day average daily case count of less than eight per 100,000 and a test positivity rate of under 5 percent in order to hold practices, compete or travel.
The SAAC representatives, however, argue that each university's athletic department has "created safe and controlled environments to ensure that student-athletes are following proper COVID-19 protocols."
Every team currently answers daily COVID-19 symptom questionnaires and receives temperature checks before each practice/conditioning session, which has led to a low number of positives cases.
When looking at each university's test positive rate, these percentages are well below that of their respective counties. The 14-day averages, which were last updated by the New Mexico Department of Health between the dates of Oct.13-Oct. 26, go as followed:
New Mexico: 0.99% (Bernalillo County is 7.3%)
New Mexico Highlands: 1.17% (San Miguel County is 3.4%)
New Mexico State: 2.78% (Doña Ana County is 16.6%)
Eastern New Mexico: 2.83% (Roosevelt County is 15.6%)
Western New Mexico: 3.4% (Grant County is 3.5%)
"These low positivity rates demonstrate that our athletic activity is currently being performed in a safe, controlled environment, and is not linked to community spread," the letter stated.
Justin Martinez can be reached at (575) 541-5455, JMMartinez@lcsun-news.com or @JTheSportsDude on Twitter. Make sure to subscribe to the Las Cruces Sun-News to stay up to date with all local sports.