Bridgewater, Va. – On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the Bridgewater College Athletic Department announced that spectators would be permitted to attend outdoor spring athletic events in a limited capacity.

All roster players will receive two tickets for guests per home event. Each student athlete will select the people they wish to have at the event and the athletic department will handle the ticket pickup process with those spectators. 

Fans will be required to wear masks or face coverings at all times and observe social distancing throughout the event. Fans will also be required to sit in designated sections where available, much like the Virginia High School League’s policy throughout winter sports. 

Spectators will not be permitted contact with players or coaches at any time throughout the event, including before and after. 

Football is going to be allowed to have the largest capacity of all sports with a maximum of 250 people per event. Each player will be allowed their two tickets per event and based off of that number, students may be allowed to fill the rest of the capacity at the Jopson Athletic Complex. 

For other sports that take place at the complex, such as men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s track and field and field hockey, per the release they will only be allowed their two tickets, despite the max for football of 250 per Bridgewater College Athletics press release. This means that field hockey, as an example, will be allowed only 28 spectators in the same venue.

All home contests will be live streamed through bridgewatereagles.com, with the exception of mens and womens tennis — whose courts are not equipped with cameras like the rest of the facilities on campus. 

Junior tennis player Canon Secord said he was glad to have fans back at matches. “I think we have the space,” said Secord.

Sophomore baseball player William Flannagan expressed excitement over the decision, saying ”I’m glad we’re able to have fans, I wish it were more.”

For other spring sports that take place inside, such as volleyball, for this pandemic-shortened season they will not be permitted spectators — much like the winter sports that took place inside.