Lake Washington School Sports: District Shares Spectator Plan

REDMOND, WA — The Lake Washington School District this week finalized its plan to allow for limited spectators at high school sports, including basketball, gymnastics and wrestling.

According to Washington's Phase 3 guidelines, indoor venues can host a maximum of 400 people. The specific cap on spectators will vary for each school, based on seating layout and the ability to ensure proper distancing restrictions.

Here are the specific plans to provide space for Lake Washington families to cheer on their athletes:

• Basketball
  • Visiting teams will be given 2 tickets per participant for family members.
  • Visiting teams are capped at 25 participants, coaches, and staff members.
  • Home teams will be given a maximum of 4 tickets per participant for family members.
  • Home Team Senior Students will be admitted as capacity and physical distancing restrictions allow.
• Gymnastics and wrestling
  • All teams will be given 2 tickets per participant for family members
  • Due to all four high schools competing at the same venue, the district does not have the capacity to allow student spectators to gymnastics and wrestling.
• Swimming
  • Pools are capped at a much more restrictive rate that allows only participants and coaches within the numbers.
  • LWSD swim meets will be conducted virtually for the first 3 weeks of the season
  • LWSD will host an in-person swim meet on May-6 for all schools, utilizing Juanita’s Fieldhouse for staging athletes in order to stay under the caps in the pool itself
  • Due to the restrictive caps, the district cannot accommodate spectators for swim meets

Family members will have access to both home and away events, through tickets issued by the district. High school seniors looking to watch home basketball games will be able to pre-register through a school-specific process. Officials said the district would welcome student spectators at varsity events using a phased approach, beginning with games in week two. Schools will be unable to offer walk-up admission.

All spectators will be required to attest to their health and complete temperature checks on entry, wear a mask for the duration of the game and keep proper physical distance from others.

Other rules include:

• Spectators will be asked to arrive at designated time only
• Spectators will be asked to enter and exit from specified locations
• Spectator attendance recorded for contact tracing
• Spectators will be asked to wear a mask/face covering at all times
• Spectators will be asked to remain 6 feet apart from anyone not in their own family at all times
• Spectators will be asked to leave a facility immediately when an event ends, no lingering in the facility
• Areas outside a facility’s fences are not the responsibility of the event management staff

Learn more on the Lake Washington School District website.