Guidance on fall sports due this week
A document providing details about return requirements is expected by Friday, Sept. 4
After a long meeting Friday involving the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, area schools are expected to finally receive guidance on a return to fall sports.
The NYSPHSAA’s Section Executive Directors, officers and staff had a video teleconference to review state guidance that had been released on Thursday, Aug. 27.
The NYSPHSAA COVID-19 Task Force will meet Monday to also review and discuss the guidance. Following that, the association will work on a document to distribute to its membership that will provide details about what is required to return to sports on Monday, Sept. 21.
According to Chris Watson, director of communications for NYSPHSAA, the document should be released on or before Friday, Sept. 4.
“Everyone is working together to get all the information to our membership as soon as possible so decisions can be made on interscholastic athletics,” said Watson, who noted that there are still questions that need to be examined.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement last Monday that sports could begin Sept. 21 left more questions than
answers. He declared that lower-risk sports such as soccer, cross country, girls tennis, field hockey and girls swimming may begin, but left out volleyball and said football teams can practice, but can’t play.
The Council of School Superintendents responded on Wednesday, Aug. 26, with a letter to Cuomo requesting school sports be delayed to Jan. 1. In a conference call with reporters Thursday, Cuomo said he had not seen the letter and will not reconsider his decision. He also said the state’s guidance doesn’t require high schools to allow fall sports.
“That does not mean that high school sports must commence,” Cuomo said. “It means it can commence. Can, not must. It’s up to the individual school district.”
The state guidance issued Thursday reiterated that soccer, cross country, girls tennis, field hockey and girls swimming may commence practice and play effective Sept. 21. It kept football and volleyball as higher-risk sports.
The guidance allows for football and volleyball to also begin practice Sept. 21, but “not to play until authorized at a later date, but no later than Dec. 31, 2020; in accordance with the stateissued guidance, such practices are limited to individual or group, no to lowcontact training (e.g. skills development), whereby contact between players may only be incidental and any activities that are specially designed to promote close physical contact are prohibited.”