As COVID-19 spreads, 2,500 wrestlers from 40 states expected to descend on Kansas City
A wrestling event is touting to bring 2,500 school-aged athletes from 40 states to the Hy-Vee Arena in Kansas City this weekend.
RMN Events of Broomfield, Colorado, will hold the Rocky Mountain Nationals Friday through Sunday. The tournament will have competition for grades K-12 and open divisions, according to the tournament’s website.
An official with RMN events was unavailable for comment Tuesday afternoon about what safety precautions will be taken to make sure the event is safe at a time COVID-19 continues to spread in the Kansas City metro area.
The company, however, has posted the following message on its website: “All spectators & competitors are required to wear masks according to city government mandate. Only athletes can remove masks before they compete. That includes, table help & coaches. Please make arrangements to bring your own mask.”
A team registration form listed some additional health measures for the vent, including recommending people 60 years and older and those with pre-existing conditions or co-morbidities do not attend. Organizers said they would be following current state COVID-19 guidelines.
Wrestlers and spectators who have temperatures of 100 degrees will not be permitted into the venue.
The event comes at at time when a county in the Kansas City area has canceled fall sports and marching band activities. Last week, health officials issued a health order that prohibited non-professional fall sports and activities in Wyandotte County to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.
Earlier in the week, the Kansas City, Kansas, School Board voted to suspend all involvement in KSHSAA fall sports, including football, volleyball, cross country, girls tennis, boys soccer, marching band and spirit squad.
Also last week, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas extended the mask mandate and limitations on restaurant and bar seating until mid-January.
Rex Archer, the city’s Health Department director, was not immediately available for comment Tuesday. A phone message left for the general manager of the Hy-Vee Arena was not immediately returned.
The mayor’s spokesperson Morgan Said shared in an email that the administration is “talking with Dr. Archer and his team. We do not believe this tournament complies with the spirit or letter of Mayor Lucas’s emergency order.”
Morgan later added that the city will be monitoring the event closely. Under the current order, officials could close “any entities... found in violation of occupancy, hygiene, and social distancing requirements.”
“Health Department officials will attend the event to ensure all protocols are being closely followed,” Morgan said in an email.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 4:01 PM.
