January 27, 2021
Stanford to return to Maples Pavilion
By Kim Doss
Santa Clara County has issued new guidelines that allow the Cardinal to play and train at home once again
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The Stanford Cardinal women’s basketball team has faced its share of adversity this year. The team currently ranked No. 6 in the country has been forced to live a vagabond existence due to COVID-19 guidelines issued by Santa Clara County. That is finally coming to an end.
Stanford issued a press release on Tuesday evening indicating that all teams will be returning to Palo Alto to train and compete after Santa Clara County issued new guidelines. These guidelines allow for “training and competition involving contact, close proximity and equipment sharing, both indoors and outdoors,” according to Stanford Athletics.
“We are thrilled that our student-athletes will now be able to train and compete on campus, and we will continue to follow rigorous health and safety standards as our teams embark on their upcoming seasons,” Bernard Muir, Stanford’s Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics, said in the release.
The new guidelines also allow teams entering the county from a distance of more than 150 miles to avoid having to quarantine for 10 days. Instead, athletic teams coming to play in Maples Pavilion will need to restrict themselves to their residences and athletic facilities until they depart.
The team has been playing games in Santa Cruz at the arena used by the Golden State Warriors’ G League team and living in hotels. The guidelines had also thrown the seasons of the women’s volleyball and women’s soccer teams—both of whom are defending national champions—into question.
The women’s basketball team will play at Washington State and Washington this week before they host Colorado at their next home game on Feb. 5.
