March 3, the Thousand Oaks High School cross-country team will have its first competition in almost a year against Westlake. This is following Ventura County’s progress into the purple tier for COVID cases. 

“Yes, I do feel safe,” senior cross-country runner Nathan Garderes said. “We run in small groups and always have our masks on before practice, during core workouts and after our runs.” 

His fellow teammates also said the same thing. 

“We also always run in open and outdoor areas, and never run in a group larger than 5 people,” senior David Caestecker said. 

Despite this, doing any workout puts you at a higher risk of attaining COVID-19. Because of the fact that coronavirus particles can stay up in the air for up to three hours, compounded with the fact that the athlete would be breathing very hard, it makes some are uneasy about the return of high school sports, even in an outdoor setting.

However, the athletics department has taken numerous protocols to ensure the safety of their athletes.

“In addition to wearing their masks before and after practice, each player must take a health screening, and must sign paperwork stating that he is safe enough to go back on campus. Also, each athlete has his temperature taken before each practice,” Garderes said.

Each day, more and more sports are given the ok to return back to practice, and hopefully, with the progression of the Coronavirus vaccine, we will all be able to return to campus.

Photo: Nathan Garderes