Q&A: Nearly Cancelled, FBE’s Apple Run Found A Way To Start The Race

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Photo: The FBE Apple Run is underway

The start of the Foundation for Belmont Education’s Apple Run 5K/2K race is … anytime the runners want it to be.

From today, Friday, Oct. 2 until midnight, Oct. 12, participants will take to the 3.1 mile course racing against each other virtually due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic. Runners are racing in a number of traditional individual time categories in addition to team contests, best costumes and a slowest racer competition.

Race registration here

Read the latest information on the race here

With the Brendan Home Run ending in 2019, the Apple Run – formerly the Dan Scharfman 5K – is the largest athletic event in Belmont in sponsored by the Foundation in support of technology at the Belmont public schools.

Paul Roberts, this year’s race director, talks to the Belmontonian about transforming the race into a virtual contest and way it was important to have it take place despite all the external pressures no to.

Question: The FBE Apple Run 5K/2K is the largest athletic event in Belmont and one of the Foundation’s major fundraisers. What were your plans as race director for the second running of the race when the pandemic put a halt to all large gatherings back in March?

Roberts: When COVID first hit, we weren’t even in the planning stages for the 2020 race yet. FBE was actually ramping up for its annual Spring Gala, which is our biggest fundraiser, and which ended up getting cancelled. At the time I remember thinking that ‘surely things will have sorted themselves out by October’ and that we’d be able to do the race per usual: in person, sponsor booths, Donna Ognibene’s workout, DJ Paul Madden, the whole bit. That turned out not to be the case, however. 

Question: Was there ever a thought of cancelling the event like so many other organizations did?

Roberts: We did discuss cancelling the event, of course, or postponing it. A couple of things pointed us towards a virtual event. First: the race is an outdoor event and one that – just looking at the race piece of it – doesn’t require face to face or close contact. Second: we had seen other yearly race events “go virtual,” so we knew that was an option. Finally, we really felt like it was important to the community to keep this fall tradition alive. We understood that it was going to be a different year, regardless. But we felt like the more we could do to keep things the same, the better. With that in mind: we decided to plan for a virtual event and even to stick to our Couch to 5K program, though in virtual format, also.

Question: So when and how did the virtual race concept started in earnest?

Roberts: I’d say the virtual event was on the table all along. We had a kick off meeting back in the May timeframe and basically the three options were: cancel, do some form of in-person event (circumstances allowing) or do a virtual event. What we did then was to reach out to the Town Administrator Patrice Garvin and Wesley Chin at Belmont Health Department and get their thoughts on the feasibility of an in person event: whether we might do a smaller event or whether we could structure the day of in such a way to keep people physically distanced. Essentially the guidance was: no races of any size until we have a vaccine. We were pretty sure that wasn’t going to be October, so at that point we made a commitment to doing the run virtually.

Question: What has been the response from the community? 

Roberts: The response has been tremendous. We had 340 runners as of Thursday, which is far above what we were expecting. The Foundation has also been really touched by the continued support of our sponsors:

  • CitySide Subaru, our Platinum Sponsor again this year,
  • Belmont Orthodontics, 
  • Shant Banosian/Guaranteed Rate, 
  • John Rogaris,
  • Belmont Center Business Association,
  • Belmont Chinese American Association.

Donna Ognibene at Triogo stepped up and will record a virtual workout for all our runners. These are very difficult time for small businesses and families, so this support has been really inspiring. 

Question: You have included a few special extras to the race.

Roberts: We decided to take advantage of the virtual format to have some fun with our prizes. Because runners have 10 days to do the race, rather than an hour, we wanted to recognize and celebrate all the fun and funky ways people can do the Apple Run – running it multiple times, running it in a funny costume (not exactly a new thing), doing the race slooowly and so on. We’re also going to be celebrating runners all through the week on social media.

Question: Explain the importance of the race to the technology fund and also as a community event during a pandemic. 

Roberts: The Apple Run has become one of the Town’s biggest annual events and one of the FBE’s most popular traditions. The race has raised more than $150,000 for the FBE and its Innovative Teaching Initiative. With all of the challenges and new costs that COVID has created for the community and our public schools, having an organization like the FBE becomes even more important. We think its critical right now to provide a bit of normalcy for the community. We’re really looking forward to seeing Apple runners out on the streets in the coming days! 

Former Belmont High Boys’ Swim Coach Charged With Taking Inappropriate Photos

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Photo: James Saidnawey during his time as head coach of Belmont High Boys Swim team

The coach who in 2018 led the Belmont High Boys Swimming and Diving team to its first Middlesex League regular season title in two decades was arrested last week in Eastham, Mass on charges that he took inappropriate photographs of teenage girls, according to a report in SwimSwam.

James Saidnawey, 29, has been charged with two counts of posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity or sexual contact, Eastham police said in a statement. They also indicated that the investigation is ongoing and that additional charges may be filed.

Saidnawey was arraigned on Sept. 23 in Orleans District Court and was released on $1,000 bail. He is set to return to court on Nov. 23 for a pretrial hearing.

Police seized several electronic devices from Saidnawey’s home and interviewed multiple potential victims before making the arrest, according to the news report.

According to SwimSwam, Saidnawey was hired during the summer as a 4th grade teacher at Eastham Elementary School. Nauset Regional School District Superintendent Thomas Conrad reported that district officials knew about the investigation before classes started on Sept. 16, and while he participated in some staff meetings, Saidnawey never had any contact with students.

After his one year at Belmont High School, Saidnawey worked as a 5th grade teacher in Newton Public Schools and coached the Newton North High School girls swim team.

Public Access To HS Athletic Fields Restricted Beginning Sept. 21

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Photo: Harris Field in Belmont

Beginning Monday, Sept. 21, access to the Belmont High School Athletic Complex located on Concord Avenue – which includes Harris Field, the track and the fields west of the “Skip” Viglirolo ice skating rink – will be limited to Belmont High School Fall athletic teams and school authorized personnel during Belmont High practices and games, according to Belmont Athletic Director Jim Davis.

In accordance with guidelines set by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, the general public is asked to refrain from any use of the athletic fields and track area of the complex when Belmont High School teams are practicing and hosting games.  

Practices are scheduled for:

  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 2:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
  • Wednesdays: 12:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  

On Game Day Saturdays, the facility is scheduled for use from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for both games and practices.

Fall Sports: Modified Rules, Modified Fees As Seasons To Start By Month’s End

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Photo: Belmont High Field Hockey will be playing this fall

There will be a fall sports season for Belmont High School student athletes as the Belmont School Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday night, Sept. 8, to approve an agreement by the Middlesex League which Belmont is a member on rules and safety.

With each sport – field hockey, golf, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls cross country – having to undergo a number of modifications to limit contact and potentially unhealthy actions on the field, the School Committee modified the participation fee each players pays.

“We are entering into a very unique school year, not only academically Burt for our student athletes,” said Jim Davis, Belmont’s athletic director, who told the committee the fee will be cut by $150 to $300 due in not small part to the major changes each sport will undo.

For example, heading the ball in soccer is disallowed, penalty corners will be discontinued in field hockey and cross country will likely be a timed race rather than the traditional group event. In addition, sport teams will be playing a third of the usually number of games in recent season and there will be no post-season tournament.

Davis said he, Belmont Superintendent John Phelan and the high school coaches reviewed the modifications and the potential impact on each sport “and that’s why we are moving forward with the ask this evening to bring those sports … back into our school and allowing our student athletes the opportunity to compare in those activities.”

While the cut in the fees will reduce revenue from athletic activities to an estimated $86,000, expenses due to less games and personnel will fall to $98,000 for the fall sports season. Phelan said that an $11,000 deficit would have been seen as reasonable when the district was initially forecasting the impact on the bottom line.

The Middlesex agreement – which is following guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the high school’s governing body the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association – is providing guidelines on pre-workout and pre-contest screening, social distancing in practices, and protocols for equipment use, hydration and the cleaning of gym bags.

There are also measures to increase physical distancing – keeping players six feet apart for the majority of games and practices – and incorporating protective equipment to reduce the spread of respiratory particles.

Under the agreement approved, fall sports in the Middlesex League will start Monday Sept. 21. Golf will kick off the season during the week of Sept. 28.

Sports will have three teams – varsity, junior varsity and freshmen – limited to 25 participants. Due to restrictions on the number of students on buses, away games will be restricted to 22 players. There will be three varsity and two sub-varsity practices each week.

Field hockey and boys and girls soccer will play 10 games on Saturdays through October and November including Columbus Day and Veteran Day. Belmont teams will play the five opponents in the Middlesex Liberty division on back to back Saturdays, home and away. The season for these sports will start Oct. 3. Games postponed will not be rescheduled.

Cross country will have five dual meets over this time.

Spectators will be limited to one per player who will be provided a season badge. Face masks will be mandatory at each contest.

The School Committee is continuing to discuss if athletes will be reimbursed their participation fee if a sports season is cancelled due to health concerns including a spike in COVID-19 infection rates. That debate will be voted before the season begins next week.

Belmont Playing Modified Soccer, Field Hockey, XC This Fall; Volleyball, Swim, Football Move To ‘Floating’ Season

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Photo: There will be a fall sports season at Belmont High School.

There will be Belmont High student/athletes playing this fall at Harris Field and on the links this fall as the athletic directors of the Middlesex League have approved their schools playing boys and girls soccer, field hockey, boys golf and boys and girls cross country, according to Belmont Schools Superintendent John Phelan who announced the decision at Wednesday, Sept. 2 School Committee marathon meeting.

But volleyball and swimming will be moving with football and competitive cheer to the newly created “floating” season that starts during the final weeks of February and ending in April.

School superintendents and athletic directors that represent Middlesex League schools approved a league-wide response to move forward with a fall season. It has been reported that Belmont will compete twice against teams in the league’s Liberty Division – Arlington, Winchester, Reading, Lexington, and Woburn – which will end for this year the annual competition against cross border rivals Watertown.

The decision by the Middlesex League comes as other athletic conferences such as the Mayflower and South Coast leagues on the South Shore and the nearby Northeastern Conference have canceled their fall schedule and moved it to the floating season, with the hope that the modifications would be suspended with changes in the severity of COVID-19.

While Belmont will be playing this fall, some of the sports will look quite different. Field hockey will now be played seven-against-seven – under normal conditions, there are 11 on each team – while penalty corners which are an important part of the game have been banned.

Soccer will see corner kicks and sideline throw-ins ended, reduced to free kicks that can not be sent into the goalie’s area. Defensive walls that help goalies to protect against free kicks have been suspended. But the most significant ban will be the end of heading the ball.

Cross country will likely be a timed event where each participant starts a certain length of time – usually 30 seconds – from the next runner.

Will Belmont High Be Playing Sports In 2020? Here’s The Q&As

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Photo: Belmont High Football will be delayed until 2021.

It’ll be Thanksgiving without the turkey this year.

The annual Belmont vs Watertown Turkey Day football rivalry, which would be marking its centennial contest in 2020, will have to wait until sometime next year to settle its annual grudge match after the state and the athletic governing body for high school athletics decided the quintessential fall sport is deemed too high risk to play while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to plague the US.

The postponement of the football season statewide was just one of several outcomes with the release of a joint sports guidance for the 2020-2021 school year from the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESE), the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) .

The blueprint for the resumption of high school sports – which took months to hammer out between the state agencies and the governing body of athletics in secondary education – was approved by the MIAA on Wednesday, Aug. 19.

With several questions remaining, here are the answers for sports in the new school year:

Q: So will sports be played this fall and the rest of the year?

Yes, the guidance has identified the sports deemed safe to play – either low or moderate risk – and the few which would be “practice only” activities.

The most striking element to come out of the recommendations is the creation of a fourth “season” dubbed Fall II or the Floating season to be played in late winter and into early spring. It was created to allow sports deemed too risky to be played at the beginning of the season and those school districts which has high community infection rates or which decide to pass on the first fall season a chance to compete when there is clearer evidence on the risk factors in participating in the sport.

Here is the list of sports and the time of year they will be played:

Sept 18 – Nov. 20, Fall Sports: Boys and Girls Soccer, Fall Gymnastics, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Girls Volleyball, Swim & Dive, Golf and Dance.

Nov. 30 – Feb. 21, Winter Sports: Boys and Girls Basketball, Boys and Girls Hockey, Wrestling, Winter Gymnastics, Boys and Girls Indoor Track & Field; Alpine Ski, Nordic Ski, Winter Cheer, Dance, Swim & Dive

Feb. 22 – April 25, Fall Sports II (“Floating Season”): Football, Fall Cheer, Unified Basketball, sports not played in fall season because of remote learning model or a decision made to wait until the spring.

April 26 – July 3, Spring Sports– Baseball, Softball, Boys and Girls Lacrosse, Boys and Girls Tennis; Boys Volleyball; Boys, Girls and Unified Outdoor Track & Field, Boys and Girls Rugby, Sailing, Girls’ Golf, and Crew.

Q: So are these dates for each season set in stone?

No. The start and finish dates are flexible due to circumstances such as moving sports between seasons. The date for the spring season ending could extend to mid-July.

Q: What else was approved by the MIAA?

The , there will be no state championship to contend in the fall; only league titles will be on the line. Out of season coaching will be allowed for the entire year and students can play in all four seasons. Also “Captain practices” – in which senior players hold un-sponsored training sessions during the off-season – are being discouraged by the MIAA.

Q: Are districts that choose to begin the school year remotely effected by the new guidance?

Under the DESE guidelines accepted by the MIAA, districts such as Belmont which starts the school year in a remote only setup are currently prohibited along with districts in communities with high COVID-19 rates from playing any sports – whether they are considered low risk such as cross country or moderate risk like soccer and field hockey – until late February when a newly created “floating season” begins.

Q: So, no sports for Belmont athletes until after the winter break?

Not all is lost for the fall and winter athletes as the new rules gives the district an “out”; remote learning districts can get back into competition if they gain the approval of their School Committee. In addition, in his weekly memo to the community on Thursday, Aug. 20, Belmont Superintendent John Phelan noted that “Belmont is able to participate in these sports with our given Phased Plan with a remote start in Phase One.”

Q: So with the general guidance approved, what’s next?

A: With health and safety for the students and coaches paramount, the next issue is how to play each sport under the guidelines set forth by the EED and DESE. And this is all about the MIAA modifying the sports to meet these state goals.

Q: What are modifications?

The modification is just that, altering the rules of the game to either eliminate or significantly reduce encounters that pose an opportunity for the Coronavirus to be transmitted. These changes are becoming a point of contention for both student and coaches.

While some sports will see little change – swimming in a pool with lane markers follows most of the social distancing; cross country will likely use a staggered start – others, such as football, are played in close quarters with constant contact as an integral part of the game.

For many sports, the changes are still being developed while other youth sports associations have already issued new rules. Take, fore instance, soccer. The Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association has just released its modified rules to comply with EEA guidance. There are changes that will effect some of the sports’ bedrock skills include:

  • No heading the ball
  • Shoulder tackles are prohibited
  • Slide tackles within 6 feet of a player are not allowed.
  • Throw-ins and corner kicks will be replaced with a “kick-in” which can not be played directly into the opponents’ penalty area.
  • A restart after a foul will require all players to stay 6 feet from each other and the opposition to stay 10 yards from the ball.
  • The “defensive wall” is suspended.

By Monday, Aug. 25, the MIAA will identify and put the modification guidance in place for each sport, which will be reviewed by each school district, said Phelan.

Q: So will the schools decide after Aug. 24 whether to play in the fall?

A: Well, yes but there is a caveat. Schools are joining their respective athletic leagues – for Belmont that’s the Middlesex League – to discuss the modifications and new rules with the idea of voting as a group on their future playing fall sports.

“The superintendents and athletic directors in the Middlesex League are meeting on Monday, Aug. 24, to discuss these latest guidelines,” said Phelan.

Q: Why would a league or school decide not to play in the fall and wait until the floating year?

A: Simply, there will be sports in which coaches and athletes believe the changes to the rules alters the play to such an extent that student athletes are forced to learn essentially a new sport. Since the MIAA will not decide whether the modifications will be used in the floating or spring season, leagues may take their chances that the development of effective therapeutic or a vaccine which will move the sport to a return to pre-COVID rules.

In addition, by working together on their positions to participate or not, the leagues will secure a schedule of traditional opponents and not have to seek teams to play possibly in far flung locations.

Jim Davis, the district’s athletic director, said that he “will be speaking with Phelan to talk through the District’s options.”

“[It’s a] [w]ork in progress,” said Davis.

A Running Fundraiser To Aid The Fight For Racial Equality

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Photo: Logo for the fundraiser.

For James Fitzpatrick, a captain on the Belmont High School track team, the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbreys, and Breonna Taylor have made it abundantly clear things need to change in our country.  

To help aid in this movement, the Belmont High School Track Team will attempt to run 500 miles in one week in order to raise funds for Black Lives Matter Boston. The challenge will begin this week.

The site for the fundraiser is here.

“I came up with the idea to create a fundraiser after hearing about all of the terrible instances of white supremacy and police brutality towards African-Americans in recent weeks,” said Fitzgerald.

“I think that as a White American right now, it is super important to be an ally for the Black community so I read a lot of articles about ways in which White people can help in this fight,” he said.

One of the most impactful is through donating to organizations that are actively working to fight for equality in America and Black Lives Matter Boston is just one of these organizations.  

“They have three main principles: working to end police brutality against African-Americans, empowering young Black people so that they can grow up to make change, and also creating change from inside the Black community.  They are also a local group so I felt like raising money for them would be directly impactful,” Fitzgerald said.

“I am hopeful that we see a changed America in the future,” he said.

Please consider donating and helping us to help others in the best way we can right now.

Undefeated: Belmont High Spring Season Coaches Praise Teams, Seniors [Video]

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Photo: A baseball playoff game between Belmont and Masco in 2019.

With Belmont High School students being forced to stay home and learn remotely for the remainder of the school year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, gone was the hope of hundreds of athletes participating in sports, from seniors in their final campaign to first-year students about to experience high school athletics for the first time.

In its way of saluting those teams and especially the seniors, Belmont Athletic Director James Davis and the head coaches of each of sports teams produced a video as both a pep talk and a thank you to those who could not participate in the spring season.

Belmont Hockey Sees Epic Playoff Run End As State Finals Cancelled, Named Co-Champs

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Photo: Belmont High Head Ice Hockey Coach Fred Allard

In the locker room after a thrilling come-from-behind 3-2 victory over St. John’s (Shrewsbury) in the Division 1 North finals last Monday, Belmont High Head Coach Fred Allard ended his postgame talk to the players proclaiming “Practice tomorrow at 3!”

“What that meant was our season is still going on and we still get to be together,” Allard said in an empty White Field House on Thursday afternoon, March 12, with the North trophy and title banner on a nearby table.

It also signified the team had punched its ticket to the TD Garden this Sunday to play for the program’s first ever state championship title.

But the the season-long goal of just having the opportunity of skating to the Belmont student section with a state championship trophy in hand would end with an email.

Two hour previous, after hard practice at the “Skip”, the starkness of the outside world entered the hockey sphere when, due to the growing threat of a global pandemic, the MIAA announced it had cancelled the Division 1 state finals against Walpole.

The consolation for the Marauders was being declared co-champions with the Rebels. But it wasn’t much solace for the Belmont players to share a title that they couldn’t play for.

“We had just gotten off the ice so everyone was in the room,” said Allard. The squad’s reaction to the announcement was heartbreaking.

“These guys were more crushed than past teams who lost to St. John’s Prep four years ago and to Waltham (losing in overtime in the North semifinals in 2018). And they were just announced as co champs of the state!” said Allard. “That’s how all in they were because it’s such a special experience.”

“It was emotional and they were devastated. We talked our way through it. We shared some memories, we reminisced on what we accomplished and hopefully the healing process of the initial pain is starting to wear off.”

As late as Thursday morning, Allard still believed the team would be on a bus Sunday heading to the Garden in Boston’s North End.

“I was thinking we got practice on Friday and Saturday and hopefully the dust will settle and we’ll get this [game] in,” he said.

On Tuesday, the powers that be were hell bent on playing the six state finals on Sunday, but all that changed Wednesday when the Coronavirus was accelerating through all segments of society including sports. In just a day, professional sports leagues announced the cancellation or suspension of their seasons.

“That’s when the [MIAA] were obviously becoming more concerned for the safety of the kids, which was the right thing,” said Allard.

By early Thursday afternoon, the NCAA cancelled their winter championships including the entire “March Madness” basketball tournament, the Boston Marathon was looking for an autumn date to the run the race and states were prohibiting large gatherings.

“Our hope was that the worse case would be playing the finals at [six] separate sites and not just at the Garden,” Allard said.

“The kids worked so hard to get to this point. They just wanted to play.”

Belmont Spring Sports Halted Tentatively ‘Til March 30; First Games April 9

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Photo: Three-time state champions Girls’ Rugby, one of the spring teams whose season has been

The first day of practice for spring sports has tentatively been delayed until March 30, according to Belmont Athletic Director James Davis.

The decision by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletics Association as a response to the spreading pandemic Coronavirus could be revisited prior to March 30 if conditions of the virus change.

“The past couple of weeks has certainly provided our member schools with challenges related to the outbreak of COVID-19,” said Davis in a press release dated March 12.

Up until the 30th, out of season coaching is not allowed during this period. The first games of the season can commence 11 days after the first practice, the earliest on April 9.

Sports include boys’ and girls’ tennis, boys’ and girls’ lacrosse, baseball, softball, boys’ and girls’ outdoor track and field and the boys’ and girls’ rugby, both defending Division 1 state champions.