While practices are still prohibited, Cornell University student-athletes can now engage in up to one hour of weight training and conditioning per day.
According to the Cornell Daily Sun, Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi announced in an email to the Cornell community that the school had moved into Phase I of the Ivy League’s Fall 2020 Phased Athletics Activity Plan. The move became effective September 29.
Cornell has also eased restrictions for club and intramural sports, fitness centers and student organizations.
Phase I will allow student-athletes to engage in one hour of “weight training and conditioning” per day, with a maximum group size of 10. It also requires participants and coaches to adhere to 6+ feet of social distancing.
The school was previously in Phase 0, which only allowed virtual team meetings with coaches once classes began and disallowed any in-person activities, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sport-specific activity can begin once in Phase II.
The Teagle Hall Fitness Center, one of the swim team’s facilities, is set to reopen on a limited basis on October 5, though there is no word on when the actual pool will be available. Of course, the school will have to move into Phase II of the Ivy League’s phased return before that is applicable.
The Teagle practice pool was closed for repairs in February, while the Helen Newman and Teagle competition pools were slated to do the same this summer before the pandemic hit.
“Over the last several weeks, we have demonstrated that, with vigilance and determination, it is possible for a university to have an on-campus student experience in the face of COVID-19,” Lombardi wrote. “We have stepped up to the difficult challenge, modifying our daily lives and remaining focused on the impacts of our collective actions. We still have a long road ahead before we can declare success, but as I’ve said before: I believe in you, and I believe in us.”
The announcement comes as the school is in the midst of successfully lowering its COVID-19 cases across campus. From September 24-30, Cornell’s Ithaca campus administered 34,960 tests and had just four positives.