Every year many Wilsonville students look forward to participating in one or more of the variety of sports offered at Wilsonville High School. With school finally hybrid now, students are able to sign up and participate in extracurricular activities like sports. However, this year things are very different.

Masks are required no matter the sport, outdoor or indoor. We all know that there are a variety of opinions when it comes to wearing a mask in general, and there’s even more controversy on whether a mask is needed outside. You can imagine how difficult it could be running around chasing after the ball, or running mile after mile during a cross country race while wearing a mask. Senior Bridget LaFreniere says, “I understand why they wanted us to wear masks while running because COVID is still definitely a major issue, so I definitely think they should require masks before and after a race.”  

The school’s first priority is the safety of the students and faculty. But there comes a point when wearing a mask can be doing just as much harm as good. Senior Keira McNamee says, “I don’t think it was as helpful outdoors while playing the sport. For some it just made other things worse. For example those with asthma or even more restrictions are at a higher risk.”

McNamee wasn’t the only one noticing the difficulty of wearing a mask while exerting yourself during physical activity. LaFreniere says, “Asking the cross-country team to wear a mask while running a 5k was a little too much. Most of the team ended up pulling their masks down while running due to the fact that it’s difficult to breathe when going out at a running pace while wearing a mask. When the weather was bad it ended up soaking the masks which was suffocating.”

Many other students have the same issues when it comes to if you’re uncomfortable breathing when getting their heart rate up. Junior Riley Lawler played soccer this year for Wilsonville and she says, “It was really hard, conditioning especially, because it forced you to change how you breathe and how you get in shape for the sport.” 

There are positives and negatives when it comes to wearing a mask outside. We all know we have to do what’s best to keep everyone safe. And masks are one of the main reasons that were able to come back to school and play sports in the first place.