During the COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns in many countries, everyone’s physical and mental health has been affected in different ways. It’s still important to maintain a routine that can help you relieve your stress during this trying quarantine schedule. The possibility of continuing physical activity has varied according to the COVID-19 rules in different countries and the resources available for athletes, sports teams, or simply fitness-loving individuals.
In Puerto Rico, gyms were closed at first. However, due to a new government-issued executive order, they were reopened along with specific sanitary measures and a restriction on the capacity of people that would be able to use the gyms. The first pandemic lockdown in March included the University of Puerto Rico’s campuses (UPR). Unfortunately, sports teams and organizations had to stop training inside the campuses, where they had their courts, halls, gyms, tracks, fields, and much more.
After months of being in lockdown, which was not expected, the athletic department of the UPR Río Piedras Campus (UPRRP) is looking for possibilities to reboot all sports: ranging from volleyball, basketball, track and field, weightlifting, judo and soccer, to swimming, tennis, and much more.
Some athletes have had the opportunity of remaining in contact with their coaches and having access to the necessary resources to keep training at their home or local gyms. Other athletes have had to look for other ways to maintain their physical endurance, according to the sport they perform. Either way, they’re endlessly hopeful that, soon, they will be practicing and competing at the campus again. Here’s four new, possible ways to restart athletic activity at the Río Piedras campus.
- Postpone dates for the LAI in all sports
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We all know how exciting it is to be proud Gallitos & Jerezanas when that time of the year comes around. The annual Intrauniversity Athletic League of Puerto Rico (LAI, in Spanish) is one of the most important and anticipated events for student sports teams.
During this event, athletes face rival universities and make the most important marks and points for their sport and their campuses. The first option that the LAI’s governing board presented was to postpone the dates of the competitions—which ultimately happened. Sports like volleyball and weightlifting already lost the time slot for the second semester of the 2020 LAI season, where volleyball teams played a series of games and the weightlifting team was supposed to compete in November 2020. For now, all events have been postponed; and, hopefully, there will be other options to restart sports at UPRRP this March.
- Have virtual meetings
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Online sports are much harder to execute, and oftentimes not possible for every single one. Either way, virtual meetings for some sports like weightlifting are already happening, since it’s an individual-effort sport where each athlete takes turns lifting on a platform. The UPRRP weightlifting team already participated in an online meeting after eight months without any interaction.
Virtual meetings still present some limitations for certain teams or countries since the technological preparation and connection needed to conduct the event is not the same everywhere. For example, the event in which the weightlifting team participated, Torneo internacional el Criollo, started two hours late due to connection problems with the other countries that were going to participate. Also, there are other circumstances to consider for sports like volleyball or basketball, which require teams and cannot be arbitrated from a screen. Other sports, such as swimming or track and field, can confront the same problem. These are only a few restrictions some sports face, impeding their athletes from participating in the reboot of sports during the pandemic.
- Plan a bubble
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The famous bubble! A competing sports bubble requires all individuals to have negative COVID-19 tests. After that, the teams are isolated in a restricted area so that they can play the series of games or events they have planned. These games are transmitted through the media for the general public, but they take place without a physical audience—just the athletes, coaches, and other necessary personnel.
There is a rumor about a bubble being planned for the LAI starting this March. The LAI’s Governing Board tried to plan one for the previous semester for sports like tennis and weightlifting, but there were several other concerns regarding security measures. They’re trying to prepare better by proposing different scenarios like doing the bubble at the Albergue Olímpico in Salinas or the UPR Mayagüez campus. These are alternatives that can vary according to how many days each sport takes up with their own events. The bubble’s proposal for practicing sports at UPR includes the festival Justas LAI, which can be celebrated in Ponce only if the establishments are safely approved (due to the amount of earthquakes that occurred earlier in 2020 in that area).
- Keep going!
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The last option for all UPR students, especially UPRRP athletes, is to keep going. It’s hard to wake up every day knowing that you won’t be going to campus to take classes or train for your sport.
It’s hard to train alone, to miss your coach’s screams and your teammates’ motivational words. It’s hard not being able to practice on your court, field, or gym, or to not be able to wear that red uniform that makes you so proud. It’s much harder to step out of bed and find all the strength to do everything you used to do at college from home, but you can. Quarantine has made us get used to practices we never thought possible, and maybe those are the things you need that will make you physically and mentally stronger for when everything normalizes a bit. Just keep going, remember all that you went through, and keep your goal clear, straight ahead—whatever you do, don’t lose sight of it.
Visit upr.rp to see pictures of some of the athletes at the Río Piedras campus!