With no ambiguity, the Big 30 Charities Classic is going to happen in 2021.
Big 30 president Bob South told The Bradford Era Tuesday night that some way, somehow, the game will be held this year after the 2020 contest was canceled last August due to complications stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re going to figure out a way to do it,” South maintained. “We feel like these seniors deserve something. They’ve done without for so long now.”
As usual, the game, which pits recently-graduated football players from area schools in New York and Pennsylvania against each other, will be played the first Saturday of August. This year that falls on Aug. 7.
EVEN WITH the game’s cancellation, the Big 30 organization was able to raise $20,000 for local charities last year, and participants in the game either received a shirt (cheerleaders/Homecoming queens) or a game jersey (football players).
The decision, which South described as “one of the hardest” he’s ever made, came down to a few things, but above all else was the safety of participants.
Other local all-star games decided to press onward. Both the Corporate Cup (Big 30 soccer) and Varischetti All-Star Football Game (Pennsylvania’s KSAC vs. AML) were played, though not in their usual forms.
The Corporate Cup was played at Olean’s Bradner Stadium with limited attendance, while the Varischetti Game was played in its usual spot, Varischetti Field in Brockway, with no fans in the stands. That didn’t stop folks from turning out, however, as fans lined the gates surrounding the stadium to watch.
BUT CIRCUMSTANCES are vastly different heading into this year’s game.
In 2020, the Charities Classic had the tough task of hoping to play a high-risk sport between two states at a public school’s facility, whereas the Varischetti Game was held only in Pennsylvania at a city’s stadium, while the Corporate Cup was a moderate risk sporting event held at a city’s stadium, too.
The hope is that as vaccines continue to roll out, some restrictions will begin to lift, making it easier and more manageable for the Charities Classic to take place.
Regardless, South said the game will go on, and as such, planning is underway. Pennsylvania played its football season last fall, while New York is scheduled to begin its football season on March 1.
Coaches’ recommendations for Pennsylvania players have begun arriving, and invitations to players will go out in the coming days or weeks.
New York, meanwhile, will have its recommendations in at some point once its season is going. Should there not be a season, coaches will submit recommendations based on the previous two years of play to allow for a game to still be held. Each school within the Big 30 will get a minimum of two players on the team.
In addition, invitations to area cheerleaders will soon go out, as well.
OTHER FACETS of the game, such as the parade, haven’t been set in stone, but South is hopeful they can still take place by August.
But there is plenty of planning that has to take place between now and Aug. 7, so the committee is “working under a strict time frame to get everything done,” South said. And in a time with so many variables, the committee president noted that there are many plans in place in order to be able to adjust with the flow of things, such as game location, practice fields, etc.
The bottom line?
“The Big 30 is alive and well,” South said. “And one way or another, the game will be played somewhere.”
(Joel Whetzel, assistant sports editor of The Bradford Era, can be reached at jwhetzel@bradfordera.com.)
