Athletic Director Butterfield Closes Out Final Season
By AJ Tenser, ’23
After missing out on spring sports last year, kids and coaches alike are overjoyed to be back on the fields as the final season of sports for this school year kicks off.
COVID-19 hit right as spring sports were about to start in 2020 which meant that last year, there were none. This year, however, not only is GFA back, but it is also proving to be a formidable threat in the division.
Just because sports are back does not mean that it has been an easy journey, as Director of Athletics Tauni Butterfield said, “We had lots of changes.”
One of these changes is limiting the amount of spectators allowed to watch the games. On weekends, two spectators are allowed per athlete, while on weekdays, only one spectator is allowed.
Despite the limited capacity, teams are loud enough to make it seem like there is a full stand watching: “The kids are so excited, and we are too, for them to be out there playing because they missed a whole year that they create their own noise,” Butterfield said.
An issue that proved more challenging was actually facilitating the matches between schools given different restrictions in different areas. Since sports does not make people immune from contracting COVID, “[The athletics department is] making sure [they] are COVID compliant to exactly what the school is doing.” One of these changes means that certain teams need to wear masks while playing if there is an inherent higher risk of transmission given the nature of the sport.
This season of spring sports is especially somber as it is the last season that Tauni Butterfield will be here at GFA with the athletics department as she is moving to Asheville, North Carolina.
Butterfield has been a part of the GFA community for 20 years, starting off as the director of girls’ athletics and, since then, growing the athletic department by a staggering amount. Not only has the department grown in terms of number of fields, “[The teams] have gotten much more competitive,” Butterfield said.
It is not just the department that she will miss, but also the bonds and relationships that she has made over her tenure with coaches and students alike.
Butterfield’s biggest piece of advice to her successor is to “Take it all in […] but don’t miss a beat and continue to fight for the athletics and continue to look on how things can be improved.” As well as this, Butterfield highlighted the importance of thinking outside of the box.
Despite the common misconception, Butterfield is not actually retiring, but rather moving closer to her son in Georgia. While Butterfield said, “It’s been exciting to watch this program grow,” she is excited to do it all over again at her new school, Carolina Day School. “They are hungry for an athletics program that they can be proud of, and I am excited to be able to do that,” Butterfield said.
“I am excited about the adventure ahead, but I am really going to miss the students, the faculty, and the athletics staff and coaches,” Butterfield said. The GFA community will miss her as she moves on to her next chapter, but is incredibly thankful for what she has done for the athletics program at GFA.