Temporary Pause to "Home" Competitions

October 6, 2022

Dear NECSD students, families, faculty, and staff,

Effective October 6, 2022 - October 13, 2022, the district will be implementing a temporary “pause” on all “home” athletic competitions, located at all district and/or local municipality sponsored locations. Both the physical and emotional well-being of all of our athletes, employees, and spectators remains our priority. This pause is temporary and has been mutually agreed upon among Section IX district and athletic leaders. Additional protocols will be shared prior to resuming traditional home games. 

We'd like to thank the neighboring Superintendents and Athletic Directors for commending the robust safety measures we already have in place at our home competitions. Although event protocols are thoroughly reviewed by local law enforcement agencies regularly, the purpose of this pause is to conduct an in-depth review of the shooting that occurred on Friday, September 30, 2022 to learn where we can further improve. This time will also give law enforcement additional time to investigate.

We recognize that this decision may be comforting for some and frustrating for others in light of the incident that took place last week. Our focus is to ensure that our athletes and their families have every opportunity to participate in all regular season competitions to avoid disruption to their season. 

We recognize how hard our student athletes work to compete, and we cherish the dedication and support that our coaches, families, and community members provide to our scholars. We understand that many of our community may feel like the focus of negativity is unfairly directed towards our athletic program. It is now, more than ever, that we work together, and never against, each other to support and celebrate our students. 

At this time, we are also seeking any potential neutral sites for “home” competitions. If you have suggestions, please contact me at HHarrison@necsd.net or 845-563-5420.

Team schedules can always be found on the right hand side of the Athletics page of the district website. Updates are being made as new locations are confirmed, please check back immediately prior to any competition you wish to attend for an updated location. 

Sincerely,

Mr. Howard Harrison

Athletic Director

Newburgh Schools

ATTENTION: Are your scholars or colleagues doing something great? Please contact the district Communications Team at communications@necsd.net. We’d love to visit your class or event and/or post your pictures and recap to highlight the amazing accomplishments throughout our district!