APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – With championships on the line and the end of the season in sight, the Appleton Little League is navigating a public health issue: air quality.
Appleton Little League President Kevin Kostelecky said league leaders discussed air quality for at least four hours before releasing its memo to families. That discussion included referring to data from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Appleton Health Department and various other local and state resources.
“Looking at all of the data points, you know, we said this is safe to play,” explained Kostelecky. “You know, we are making some concessions with it — we’re playing shorter games today, we’re starting later because the later we go, the better the air quality should be.”
Additionally, no player is required to attend. And those who do decide to play are encouraged to monitor their health, with coaches and players being allowed to call a time out between plays or pitches for players to catch their breath.
“We listened to our home membership,” said Kostelecky. “You know, we did not receive a lot of feedback today — maybe one person reached out to us today and asked about the air quality and if we should be playing.”
Appleton Little League says it will continue to monitor the situation and make changes as needed moving forward.”
