Restrictions won’t allow school, club sports at same time
Central Coast Section alerts members that kids must choose
The Central Coast Section alerted member schools Feb. 12 that Santa Clara County officials are not allowing student-athletes to participate in high school and club sports simultaneously this spring.
The alert follows an announcement on Feb. 10 by the California Interscholastic Federation that studentathletes would not have to choose one over the other. They could do both.
The CIF made its decision to waive its rules for the remainder of the academic year after consulting with California Department of Public Health officials, who recommend in their youth sports guidelines that athletes stick to one cohort or sport. But the CDPH told the CIF that its guidelines were not a mandate, just recommendations.
So after announcing last month that its rules that prohibit playing high school and club sports at the same time would be enforced, the CIF reversed course.
But Santa Clara County did not.
The county known for having some of the strictest coronavirus regulations in the nation has told high school officials that it will continue to follow CDPH guidelines to the letter of the law.
Central Coast Section commissioner Dave Grissom, who oversees the high schools in Santa Clara County, has no dispute about the language in the guidelines. But he points to the consultation that the state CIF office had with California health officials that led the CIF to change its rules this week.
“They’re the only county that has said that we’re still going by the language that is currently written,” Grissom said Feb. 12.
In a statement to the Bay Area News Group on Feb. 12, the County of Santa Clara explained why it is enforcing stricter rules.
“The California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) guidance for youth sports states that ‘athletes and coaches should cohort by team, and refrain from participating with more than one team over the same season or time period,'” the county said. “This provision is designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in youth sports. For the same reason, the County does not allow youth to participate in multiple cohorts at one time for extracurricular activities, regardless of whether those activities are athletic or non-athletic.
“This rule is designed to limit intermixing and reduce the spread of COVID-19 so that children can safely return to school. That is the County’s top priority for youth. Although CDPH has now decided that its provision is a recommendation, the County’s provision remains mandatory at this time. The County of Santa Clara recognizes the critical importance of sports for youth and families across our community and as conditions improve, the County will continue to evaluate the restrictions on youth programs and athletic activities and looks forward to relaxing those restrictions as the data warrants.”
Asked if there is concern that student-athletes will choose club over high school competition, Grissom said, “Yes. The fact that kids have to choose is unfortunate — and only in Santa Clara County. But it’s unfortunate. We will have a loss of participation. Kids are going to have to make the choice. It is a concern.”
Grissom said he reached out to the Santa Clara Office of Education for clarification after the CIF made its announcement Wednesday. He received an email Feb. 11 from Barbara Flores of the education office.
In his alert to schools Feb. 12, Grissom included Flores’ statement, which said:
“The Youth Athletics guidance is currently being reviewed and there hasn’t been an update as of yet. Until there is an official update on the guidance, the more restrictive guidance will always be followed. So, for cohorting, at this time, the more restrictive guidance is: Players may participate in only one cohort at a time and may not move from one cohort to another more than once every three weeks.”
Archbishop Mitty Associate Principal Keith Mathews said in an email to the Bay Area News Group that he intends to appeal the ruling to the County Health Department.
Mathews emphasized that he is “as concerned as the County about the safety of the young people in our charge. But I also worry about the impact of the County guidance on high school sports. In all likelihood, if our students are forced to choose, many will opt for club; and in some sports, we will surely be unable to field a varsity squad and/ or lower-level teams.”
Late last month, the county’s high school sports community was in an uproar when county officials told school superintendents in a meeting that youth sports can happen as long as the participants remain 25 feet apart — restrictions that were far more severe than the state’s guidelines.
The county reversed course a day later, rescinding the restrictions to match the CDPH’S youth sports guidelines — a pivot the county did not do when its rules caused the 49ers and Sharks to temporarily move to Arizona and college football and basketball teams to play home games beyond the county lines.
Friday, Palo Alto High football coach and athletic director Nelson Gifford sent the Bay Area News Group an email about the county’s latest restrictions.
“They are at it again,” Gifford wrote.
Contact Darren Sabedra at 408-920-5815.