The Recreation Board met virtually for its January meeting, and Director Dave Sniffen talked about the various programs the board is offering for the winter season on Block Island. Mentioning that programs had paused when Covid “started to explode,” Sniffen told the board that theRec Department is back to operating its full slate of programming.Sniffen said he was “following the school’s lead” when it came to sports, and has organized the kids’ activities to reflect the “pod” system used at Block Island School. As such, youth basketball is divided into three pods: kindergarten and first grade; second, third, and fourth grades; and fifth and sixth grades. All participants adhere to covid guidelines during the games, Sniffen informed the board.The Rec Department is also fielding two off-island basketball teams, which both won games at Narragansett in their only outing. Sniffen said boat cancellations due to weather had limited the Saturday games, but weather permitting, the kids from Block Island will be back at it this weekend.Sniffen reported that weekends are pretty busy at the school gymnasium, with various sports and activities for different age groups running throughout the weekend. (See box below.)Sniffen reported that the annual ski trip had