In a letter to the Bowdoin community sent out last Tuesday, President Rose announced that Bowdoin would be participating in a limited number of athletic competitions this spring. The announcement came on the heels of a decision by the NESCAC presidents to allow individual schools to determine the extent of athletic competition in which they will participate.

While other NESCACs might decide to allow their teams to travel across state lines to compete, Rose announced that Bowdoin will only compete with other schools in Maine. Any competition will be preceded by rigorous screening procedures for teams, officials and bus drivers.

Athletes from all seasons, not just spring athletes, will get a chance to compete.

“I am happy to tell you that the College will offer the opportunity for some of our fall, winter and spring varsity teams to compete in state with athletes from schools that have the same testing protocols as Bowdoin,” Rose wrote.

In his email, Rose also highlighted how the College will use antigen testing, as it does for classes and clubs, to allow athletes to safely travel a greater distance than the ten-mile limit permitted under campus guidelines.

“The opportunity for our student-athletes on campus to compete in a manner that is consistent with campus practices, even on a limited basis, allows them to return to an activity that is central to who they are and moves us that much closer to normal,” Rose wrote.

In order to mitigate risk, Rose also announced that athletes will be traveling directly to the site of competition.

“Athletes will travel directly to the site of competition in ‘game ready’ status (in uniform and without the need to access locker or training room facilities—portable restrooms will be provided at the site of outdoor competitions),” Rose wrote.

Ashmead White Director of Athletics Tim Ryan expressed his support for the decision in an announcement on the Bowdoin athletics website.

“While we will compete on a limited basis this spring and opportunities will be based upon team-specific circumstances, we are grateful for the work done by our partners within the Bowdoin community to make this possibility a reality,” Ryan wrote. “To varying degrees, fall, winter and spring teams will have the opportunity to have a limited number of contests, on weekends, in April and early May, which is exciting.”

In his letter, Rose also reemphasized the strong possibility of a return to normal athletics in the fall.

“As I announced in my message last week, we expect there to be a full athletic schedule in the fall,” Rose wrote.