CIF sets a date to determine fate of fall sports
The California Interscholastic Federation announced Friday that it will decide by July 20 whether fall sports can be playedasscheduled.
In a broad news release about coronavirus-related sports guidelines, determined after two days of meetings with its 10 section commissioners, the CIF added that it is “prepared to offer alternative calendars if it is determined by July 20 that Fall sports may not start as scheduled due to ongoing public health and safety concerns.”
The CIF chose the July 20 date because it believes that it is a “reasonable timeframe” for schools to prepare if there is a fall season.
“So many of our school districts are still focused on finishing up the school year,” CIF executive director Ron Nocetti told the Bay Area News Group. “They’re still moving through that.”
The CIF guidelines mostly follow recent recommendations by the National Federation of State High Schools Association (NFHS), except the CIF’s include a 30-day medical waiver option for students who can’t schedule a physical.
The CIF’s also does not include a “return to competition” phase. In the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee’s guidelines, it noted that moderate-risk sports such as basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and water polo may begin practices and competitions under Phase Three.
The CIF did not add the third phase, Nocetti said because at this point it just wanted to give schools information about returning to physical activity and training.
“As we move closer, we can certainly release additional information,” he added.
Moreover, the CIF instituted a financial hardship waiver for the first semester of the 2020-21 school year, clearing a path for students who have to change schools because of family economic issues.
The CIF provided no specif
ics or bullet points about how an alternative sports calendar would look, although many, including section commissioners, have speculated in the months since sports were shut down in March.
“Those are things that we can certainly look at as we move forward,” Nocetti said. “But right now, it’s difficult to put some guesses out there as to what could be some bullet points until we have at least a little better idea of how many school districts are actually looking at going back into school and when they’re going back.
“WhenwegettoourJuly 20th date, those are things we are going to have a much better idea of. Are we looking at a delay for the fall season? Do we feel really good about where we are at that point?
“If we are feeling like we can’t make the fall season work, then what other alternative schedules are we looking at? Later in the fall? Are we looking at starting in January for all three seasons, which I know has been discussed by a lot of people?”
Some schools returned to sports conditioning this week, following strict county guidelines of social distancing, small groups and temperature checks. But those teams are not sure what they are preparing for because of the uncertainty about their season.
“I got to see our kids this week and they’re, ‘Coach, what’s going on? Coach, what’s going on?’” De La Salle football coach Justin Alumbaugh said Friday. “I get it. We’re prepping and we’re happy to be down here together. But there is that dangling thing that we just don’t really know what the hell is going on. It’s hard.”
The CIF said it continues to monitor directives and guidelines released from the governor’s office, the California Department of Education and state and local health departments and agencies.
Nocetti said the section commissioners want to be hopeful about a return to sports “because this is what we do. This is what most of the people in that room have done their entire careers in education, from the classroom to the field to the section offices.
“At the same time,” Nocetti added, “they also wanted to make sure that we are looking at this realistically and the key that came out of that group is that we want to make sure that we’re prepared for any and all options that are going to come our way.
“I don’t think anyone can predict accurately, as we’ve seen since mid-March, of where exactly this is going to go. As things open up, I think we’re going to get a better indication, hopefully. We’re all looking for that piece of positive information each day to keep us going in the right direction.”