Goshen College athletics come with a very supportive fan base.
Not being able to support players for the last three months has been hard on many members of the community.Recently however, there seems to be a sign of hope for fans who are eager to return to the stands.
The spectator policy implemented on Sept. 4 underwent significant shifts: from allowing a small number of fans, to allowing players two family members each, then canceling all attendees altogether.
This policy has been amended once again, now permitting athletes four complimentary tickets through a pass list at the gate to the Ruth-Gunden Gymnasium for each competition.
The players will be allowed to choose who receives these tickets, however all guests will still have to follow the regulated guidelines of the Elkhart County Health Department and COVID-19 protocols.
“The change is pretty straightforward,” Tony Miller, sports information director said. “Each Goshen player gets to put four people on the pass list; those four people get to come to the game (as long as they mask up, socially distance and observe the Big Four).”
GC’s interim athletic director Erica Albertin and director of events Cynthia Good Kaufmann said there was an intricate process in order for this change to occur.
“This proposal came up through athletics and Student Life,” Kaufmann said. “I worked with the Elkhart Health Department in submitting an event plan and adjusting it based on their recommendations.”
“We submitted the spectator proposal to the pandemic team to improve on the student experience,” Albertin said. “It is fantastic that our teams are competing this year. As an athletic leadership team, we felt that it would be possible to have limited spectators in a safe way. Parents and family members are a great support system for students, so we wanted to have people at the games supporting the student-athletes.”
Although not all fans will have the opportunity to return to the stands, the option to stream games online at goleafs.net is still available.
