On the parking lot square, construction was the sight for months. Then, when school restarted during January, the construction was finished. A new Sage Hill court! Not only basketball, but also a volleyball court. One can see the Sage logo formed by individual plastic squares puzzled together.

Due to the current pandemic, all sports have to practice outdoors. The new court solves that problem. 

“I think it’s great that Sage found a way to provide an alternative to practice,” junior Audrey McGuff said, who’s also on the girls’ volleyball team.

Since girl’s volleyball ends Mar. 20, practice matters. The outdoor court provides an opportunity for teams to bond and train.

“I think the sport court is a great way to adapt to play volleyball on a better surface,” McGuff said.

For a crazy year, being able to participate in a team sport is such an important step to the normalcy that seems so far off.

“Sports provide a sense of normality, although we cannot compete against other schools. It’s great to still keep the team environment,” McGuff said.

The court also brings a sense of normalcy socially as well.

“I like the outdoor courts. I think if everyone has their own basketball, it’s very safe. It’s pretty awesome for people who like to play basketball,” freshman Aaron Joshi said.

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) released some updates this week that will affect Lightning Athletics going forward this semester. As expected, CIF canceled Season 2 “Fall” Sectional Championships. CIF also extended the end-of-season date for Fall sports in an effort to allow for more of a possibility of playing any Fall sport games.

Orange County currently is under a Stay at Home Order, which allows for physical team practice as long as it’s six feet distance and within the team. However, if the Stay at Home Order is lifted, there can be sport competitions. The only sports that can have competitions even with the Stay at Home Order are golf, cross country, swim and dive, tennis, and track.

A quick note on when the “fall” sports are ending. Boys’ water polo will end Mar. 20, the same time as girls’ volleyball. Cross country will end on Mar. 27, whereas football will end on Apr. 3rd.

Hopefully other sports can have competitions. The situation continues to fluctuate, so competitions may or may not happen.