HANOVER — Dartmouth College is temporarily closing athletic events to the general public due to the latest surge of COVID-19, the athletic department announced in a news release Wednesday.
The restriction on attendance will last through at least Jan. 18, and perhaps longer, if Dartmouth’s campus restrictions extend beyond that date.
Dartmouth chose the 18th to allow for two weeks after students return to campus on January 3 to resume surveillance testing and monitor results.
Athletic events will continue as scheduled, but mostly without fans. Some venues may allow a limited number of pre-approved guests of student-athletes and coaches.
Attendees on those lists “will be required to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test result within 72 hours of the event before entry.”
Dartmouth interim athletic director Peter Roby said this decision came from ongoing discussions as the omicron variant has led to spikes in COVID-19 cases.
Roby said the goal was to keep everyone safe while keeping the winter season on the schedule.
“All of the considerations is to try to do everything we can to preserve the games,” Roby said. “Wanting to keep the athletes from interacting with fans, to the extent that we can, is a part of the consideration so that we don’t have to postpone or cancel games. The health and safety of students participating in athletics and trying to give them the best experience possible were the priorities when trying to figure out what to do.”
Tickets purchased for events through Jan. 18 will be refunded automatically, by the original payment form. Ticket holders should receive receipts for the refunds before Dec. 31.
Earlier this week, Dartmouth canceled the 2022 Dartmouth Relays, an annual track and field meet brings over 2,000 participants and coaches to Hanover from around New England. Roby said he does not expect an Ivy League-wide shutdown. Though he warned the situation could change rapidly.
“We’ve had these conversations, as we’ve come out of last year, about what we would do in the event that games had to be postponed or canceled,” Roby said. “We’re going to try to get as much of the seasons in as we can, and then we have policies in place with respect to how our teams will be designated or viewed in terms of championships or standings or any of that sort of stuff. So we have contingencies in place, and the hope is that we won’t have to make a blanket declaration that all games are off. It’s going to likely be a campus-by-campus situation, because everybody’s situation is different. ”
Neil Castaldo, a regular in the stands at Dartmouth men’s basketball games, said he’s disappointed he won’t be able to watch the Big Green in person for the next month, but he understands the decision. He said fans at games this season have observed the mask requirements without issue.
“I regret it because they’re fun to watch. They’ve been accurate shooting 3-point shots, and that’s always exciting. But public health comes first,” Castaldo said. “I think the decision to suspend attendance at the games by the public is a pretty sound one. Seems to me like it’s based in medical facts, and we should go along with it.”
Seth Tow can be reached at stow@vnews.com.