Park City allowed to resume competition

MIDVALE — Park City's spring sports teams will be allowed to participate in their respective 3A tournaments after all.

In the middle of a UHSAA press conference this morning to announce that all 3A tournaments "will be held as presently scheduled," which essentially meant that Park City's teams wouldn't be allowed to participate unless the Park City School District re-opened Park City High this week, UHSAA executive director Dave Wilkey received a fax from the Summit County Health Department (SCHD) to say it is recommending that Park City High re-open today.

It was an absolutely stunning turn of events, which left Wilkey flabbergasted in the middle of the press conference.

"I guess prayers are sometimes answered," said an emotional Wilkey before reading a press release from the Summit County Health Department.

Wilkey was handed the press release from the SCHD literally moments before the press conference began but didn't read it initially because he needed to start the conference.

He stepped out to read the fax approximately 10 minutes into the press conference, however, and he read it to assembled reporters moments later.

The SCHD statement reads, "Due to the fact that there have been no probable or confirmed cases of H1N1 swine flu in students or faculty from the Park City High School, the Summit County Health Department is recommending the re-opening of the high school, starting today."

The other seven schools in the Park City School District will remain closed for now, according to Kim Carson, president of the Park City Board of Education.

This morning's stunning outcome was one that UHSAA staff and 3A principals didn't think would happen after they wrapped up a meeting that went long into the night Monday at the UHSAA offices.

The 3A members of the UHSAA's executive committee considered a number of options to try to accommodate Park City High, which PCSD announced last Saturday would be closed until at least next Monday after one student in the district was confirmed to have contracted the H1N1 virus, but ultimately decided it wouldn't be possible to push back tournament dates by a week or two weeks.

This morning, however, the SCHD decided that Park City High could re-open. Carson was on her way down from Park City to the UHSAA press conference when she received a call that the high school would be opening again.