This year has brought a lot of uncertainty, but one thing is for sure, high school students can play sports again. While there is a limit on how many people can attend sporting events, Ellensburg High School offers livestreaming through a company called Just a Live Game.

EHS Athletics Director Cole Kanyer said this year has been good but challenging, and it is exciting to have sports back and be able to live stream them.

“It’s been a really exciting time.” Kanyer said. “Going nearly a year without any kind of extracurricular activity has been really, really challenging, and I think it takes some of the joy out of the scholastic process for a lot of students.”

At the beginning of the year, sports teams were practicing without the option of competing. Once February began, they got the go-ahead to start competitions, according to Kanyer.

Joan Smith-Bator, a parent of a high school athlete, said it brings back a sense of normalcy, especially for her son who is a senior this year.

“It’s been hard even beyond sports, the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of engagement around school,” Smith-Bator said.

Smith-Bator said it’s been harder for her, as a parent, that football will only play four games this season. However, she said her son is just happy he gets to play sports during his senior year.  

She said having sports live streamed is awesome because it allows grandparents and other family members to watch the games in the comfort of their own home. She said she hopes EHS continues to live stream even after COVID-19.

Kanyer said they plan to continue livestreaming down the road. He said he hopes next year the season can execute as normal, but for now they need to focus on the current season.

“So, I think thus far it’s been an extremely stressful endeavor on everybody putting the events on but also a very rewarding effort for the reason of getting our kids back out on the fields and on the courts,” Kanyer said.

The links to watch the live streams are on the EHS athletics website at ehsbulldogs.com. Games can also be viewed on justagamelive.com at a later time.