ROCKPORT — Camden Hills Regional High School has decided to opt out of the upcoming fall sports season and will not participate in any quote-unquote traditional games this fall. 

Teams, rather, will participate in practices and modified games this fall. 

Fall sports at Camden Hills includes mountain biking, golf, football, cross country, field hockey and soccer. 

Below is the letter from the school administration

Parents and students,

Ms. Libby, Jeff Hart and I have watched and waited for firm guidance from the State of Maine and the MPA on interscholastic sports. We know it has been a frustrating and disappointing wait for all of you. We also understand how important athletics and participation in extra-curricular activities are for the health and well-being of our students.

With that said, we also have wrestled with the knowledge that our first and highest priority is to keep our schools open for as long as possible. The importance of face to face instruction is not in doubt and all of our decision making this summer has been to maximize the opportunities for face to face instruction. We are trying to balance many needs.

We have reached the point where we can no longer wait to see if the MPA or State of Maine will even allow interscholastic athletics. We feel the path forward is very clear and apparent. We have come to the disappointing conclusion that there is no way to adequately minimize the risks of mixing our student population with other school populations in thinking about league competition. We have, therefore, decided that we will not be providing a traditional interscholastic sports schedule this fall. Our first concern must be to do what we can to maintain the health of our student community in order to keep our buildings open for in-person learning for as long as possible. We do, however, still intend to offer a modified athletic program at Camden Hills.

We have asked our athletic director, Jeff Hart, to begin to work with coaches on building a fall sports program for our students that will not include interscholastic competitions. What follows from him are the outlines of what this program will look like, forms, dates etc.

We know this is very disappointing for our athletes and their families and recognize that many of you will be upset, even angry about this turn of events. All we ask is that you give yourself time to think about the bigger picture. This pandemic is asking for sacrifices from everyone in large ways and small. This is a big sacrifice and can only seem acceptable if we remember the larger goal we are trying to achieve, which is to do everything possible to offer in-person instruction through this year. We feel balancing this goal with modified athletics is the best outcome we can achieve.

Shawn Carlson
Maria Libby
Jeff Hart

Fall Sports Coaches 2020 at Camden Hills Regional H.S.

Football: Chris Christie christiecoaching@gmail.com

Girls Soccer: Meredith Messer meredith.messer@fivetowns.net

Boys Soccer: Ryan Hurley ryan.hurley@fivetowns.net

Cross Country: Helen Bonzi helen.bonzi@fivetowns.net

Golf: Mark Wallace mark.wallace@fivetowns.net

Field Hockey: Lindsey Clement lkclement@gmail.cm

Mt. Bike: Cy Scofield cy.scofield@hotmail.com

To sign up for Fall Sports, follow these steps:

Contact the varsity coach of your sport via email to indicate your interest.

Sign up online (form is on the Camden Hills website under Athletics)

Complete the Health History Form (you may download from the same website

Submit your Physical Exam Information to the Main office (Freshmen and first year students to Camden Hills only)

First day of Fall Sports is September 8th, but some sports are starting optional conditioning workouts as early as August 24th. Check with the coach when you email them.

We will NOT be competing interscholastically this year, but coaches will be having practices and modified games. What exactly that looks like is dependent on the sport and they all are a work in progress.

Any student who is playing a club sport outside of Camden Hills will not be allowed to participate with the school teams.

Any questions contact Athletic Director Jeff Hart jeff.hart@fivetowns.net

Questions for the Athletic Trainer contact Chris Audet chris.audet@fivetowns.net

Letter from Camden Hills athletic director Jeff Hart

I'm going to follow up the letter from school administration with this coming directly from my heart.

This is the one of the saddest days in my professional career. This is how I have to start my second year as Athletic Director - being a part of an announcement like we had to make today. I can't think of a scenario where I would have ever guessed we would be in this situation. I want everyone to know that the decision was made by people who care deeply about this community and the students and their families who are impacted by this the most.

I love Camden Hills High School. I love the kids, the faculty and administration . . . all of the people who comprise this high school. As most of you know, I have spent most of my life working for this community, and outside of my family, it is the thing about my life that I am most proud of. In a lot of ways, it is my extended family. I am mourning for my family at Camden Hills right now. I know a lot of you are too. Some of you are going to be hit harder than others - and that stinks for you, and I feel for all of you.

We do have to allow ourselves to mourn, but then we have to get moving forward. Somehow, someway, we have to try not to look at it as a catastrophe . . . we have to try to figure out a way to make it our finest hour. Right now, that isn't easy to see how we could possibly do that. But maybe in a day, or a week, or a month . . . we start to see how we can do that.

I know that is what I am going to do. Start moving forward - make this the best Fall sports season we can with the cards we have been dealt. There is no place that I would rather be working than where I am right now.

I hope everyone stays healthy, and that our finest hour starts today.

Best,
Jeff