Monday’s announcement of a potential “bubble” for our local four-county area (Elk, McKean, Potter and Cameron) and its high schools teams was perhaps the best indication locally that we will truly go forward with fall sports, and kudos to those who are trying to think outside the box during a time when it’s required.

In case you missed it, the aforementioned counties, which encompass the Big 30’s Pennsylvania region, are going to potentially establish a sort of “bubble” in which the schools from these areas only play each other this fall, and don’t leave that established boundary. The concept, devised by local superintendents, is still dependent upon participating school boards accepting both the proposal and moving forward with fall sports in general.

Under the agreement, competitions for all sports, including golf and tennis, would begin no earlier than Sept. 14. Currently, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association is permitting teams to begin competitions on various dates: Aug. 27 for golf, Aug. 31 for girls tennis and Sept. 11 for the remaining fall sports.

But it’s that common start date of Sept. 14 that creates a bit of an issue.

Delaying football, soccer, volleyball and maybe even cross country is a decision that makes sense, especially as schools reconfigure their schedules. That’s especially true for Bradford, whose soccer teams typically compete in Erie more than the immediate area.

However, to delay golf and tennis seems a bit much. Simply put, these are the safest of all the fall sports, and they also happen to have the earliest starts to the postseason (assuming, of course, there is one).

In addition, golf is especially dependent on good weather, and even more so on course availability. To postpone matches already set up within the bubble to a later date assumes that these local courses remain available in a two- to three-week sprint of a regular season.

Rather than make these safer fall sports wait until Sept. 14 like the higher-contact competitions, why not just let the golf and tennis teams get their seasons started, either as scheduled or a week or two ahead of the other sports like the PIAA is doing right now? You would buy yourself extra course time as needed and likely be able to get a little more wiggle room for rescheduled matches that way.

Allowing those sports to go on as previously scheduled would also allow local ADs to shift their focus to the monumental task of redoing the remaining schedules that are normally set months in advance. The clock is ticking, and not much time is left before Sept. 14. Giving these ADs extra time to reschedule would only be to their benefit.

However, these minor issues, which aren’t deal-breakers by any means, aside, this was the best possible compromise available for fall sports.

In a time where extra precautions have to be taken, it’s wise of our local administrators to limit travel, especially in a district as geographically large as District 9. Keeping Bradford’s athletes from going to schools in Butler County (Karns City and Moniteau) or preventing Smethport or Otto-Eldred kids from having to go to Redbank Valley or Keystone makes a lot of sense, because it limits the amount of time those kids are packed in tightly on school buses.

It also limits the amount of outside visitors to the area, a key to preventing the spread of Covid-19.

Further, with spectators still banned from events due to state protocol, it prevents local athletes from straying too far from their parents in case, God forbid, something were to happen during a game and they needed to go to a hospital.

And, lastly, playing within this bubble certainly beats the alternative of not having a local sports season at all. Just because the PIAA moved forward with the fall campaign doesn’t mean local school districts are required to do so, and indeed, many districts across the state have dropped out of this year’s fall sports season.

So sure, there are some very minor kinks to be worked out with this agreement, but for our local athletes, coaches and fans, this was probably the best-case scenario for both beginning and completing a fall sports season.

(Joel Whetzel, sports editor of the Bradford Era, can be reached at jwhetzel@bradfordera.com.)