FCS teams will have limited attendance at home sporting events

“This plan will allow each student two fans, whether it’s a parent and a brother, or two parents, whatever, each student will be allowed two fans to come to the games,” FCS Superintendent Mark Kopp said.

“We’re going to do social distancing in our gyms and stadiums, and we’ll do it so we don’t exceed 20% of our facility capacity.”

FCS will be working with online ticketing company Hometown Ticketing. Kopp said that there will be a link for tickets available in a few days and that the link will appear on each school’s website.

“We’re excited to be able to have parents at events to watch their children compete,” Kopp said.

The two-fans-per-athlete rule will also apply to cheerleaders and dance team members.

“The bands are a little different matter,” Kopp said. “The problem is our bands are so big we’d be over capacity. We’ve talked about having a band night where it’s only a band performance. We’ve talked to both directors, and they said it’s been a challenge having virtual band practice.”

In addition to social distancing, names and phone numbers will be required for fan attendance through the preregistration (online ticket) process in case contact tracing needs to be done.

There will be a temperature and symptom check performed before entry to the game, and there will be one-way entry and exit signs posted at the facilities.

Masks are required of all fans and should be worn at all times. The exception is while eating or drinking.

Only grab-and-go style concessions will be allowed. The plan is for minimal or no exchange of money for concessions with a flat rate for items or the availability of pre-purchase through the online ticketing platform.

Fall sports for Franklin County schools are scheduled to start Tuesday. Teams with home games Tuesday are Western Hills’ girls soccer team taking on Thomas Nelson and Franklin County’s volleyball team hosting Trimble County.

“A huge thank you to Judy Mattingly,” Kopp said of the director of the Franklin County Health Department. “We've worked hand-in-hand with her and the health department to create this plan.”

Kopp said when teams play on the road, parents will need to check with the opposing team’s plan.