UNCW students looking forward to attending sporting events again

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Following Governor Roy Cooper’s announcement on Wednesday that some restrictions are easing, UNCW announced they will be welcoming fans back into the sporting events.

The following guidelines were released on Thursday:

Fans will still be required to wear face coverings at all times when not eating or drinking. Social distancing and frequent hand washing will continue to be encouraged. Hand sanitizing stations will be available.

Available seating will be allocated to the following groups before any general public ticket sales: (1) Seahawk Club donors (2) UNCW Students (3) UNCW Home Team (4) Visiting Team

Trask Coliseum (Men’s/Women’s Basketball)
Seating Available: 780

Brooks Field (Baseball)
Seating Available: 500 

Boseman Field (Softball)
Seating Available: 150 

UNCW Soccer Stadium (Men’s/Women’s Soccer)
Seating Available: 150

Hanover Hall (Volleyball)
Seating Available: None | Home team pass list only

The reaction from students seems to be overwhelmingly positive, looking forward to feeling a semblance of normalcy.

“I feel like it will bring us back a little to the ‘before-times’ as we call it,” Senior Carlos Uribe said.

“I was super excited because, to  me, it’s a sign of normalcy coming back,” Freshman Richie Recher said.

Freshmen say they’re finally getting a taste of what the college experience is actually like.

“It’s our first time really being on a college campus and so seeing college sports, it’s fun being here and it will make the environment better, you know, with the pandemic,” Freshman Kaelyn L. said.

“We haven’t really had a real chance to really become a part of the community yet so I think sporting events, hopefully, is the first kind of step to be able to go somewhere in public with our classmates and actually socialize and things like that,” Recher said.

For the seniors, they’re getting to close their collegiate chapter on a somewhat high note.

“We want to see our teams one last time before we graduate,” Uribe said.

The overall consensus being that being able to cheer on the seahawks again will help boost morale on campus.

“This is something we can finally do, have fun even if it’s wearing masks,” Uribe said.

“It’ll definitely improve the atmosphere, the morale around here,” Senior Matthew Kelly said.

The spread of the virus doesn’t seem to be a concern, they say they feel comfortable taking new steps because of the current precautions on campus.

“We’re getting our stuff together,” Junior Lizzy Beekman said. “People are being vaccinated and since we’ve been really good about following our rules we’re like getting something out of it now.”

“I think they know what they’re doing when they’re opening things up, so I think if we follow what they say and we get tested like we should then I don’t think we should have any problems,” Recher said.

“Yeah, and like you said, getting tested weekly it will let you know who is possibly sick and they can stay away from those exposures of large [groups of] people,” Freshman Kegan Pasciolla said.

Also on Thursday, high school athletic directors in New Hanover County met and decided they will allow fans as well. The schools have not released specific numbers at this time.