Some student athletes are back to training

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Los Angeles County:

Sports teams at Crespi Carmelite High School in Encino have continued practicing and playing games, relying on air-quality advisories and communication with athletic directors at other schools, said assistant principal Jeff Thornton. The junior varsity and freshman football teams were in action Thursday, and the varsity football team was scheduled to play Friday against Bishop Amat at home. The water polo team has also been in action.

Coaches have been checking air-quality levels on the website of the SouthCoast Air Quality Management District on a regular basis. At one point earlier in the week, when air particulates at the West San Fernando campus were high, the intensity and duration of football practice was lowered. Physical education classes and other outdoor activities have been curtailed, however, and are being conducted indoors.

‘Obviously, if students are coughing or having a hard time, we’ll pull them out and let them rest,’ said Thornton. ‘We also have two trainers on staff, and they’re available at all of our home games.’

An athletic assistant at the all-boy Loyola High School said that a water polo match against Servite High School in Anaheim scheduled for Thursday was canceled based on air-quality concerns. Whether to cancel or continue is determined by location and conditions. The school participated in a cross-country meet at Crescenta Valley Park, where air quality was listed as ‘good’ Thursday and a freshman football game against Notre Dame went on as planned.

Marymount, an all-girl school in West Los Angeles canceled every outdoor activity, including sporting events, practices, assemblies and a food fair, and moved them inside through much of the week.

On Thursday, the school resumed minimal noncardiovascular outdoor activities such as walking, said communications director Sydney Reece-Sene.

The school sent the tennis team to a South Bay match Thursday evening, but left participation up to parents, some of whom decided not to send their daughters, said Reece-Sene.

‘We play it on a day-by-day basis, consulting the AQMD and the CIF daily,’ Reece-Sene said. ‘We’re cautious and conservative and rely on parent discretion.’

-- Carla Rivera