STILL NO WORD YET ON FALL SPORTS FOR PREPS
The announcement Monday that San Diego Unified School District will start the new school year with online-only instruction adds more uncertainty to whether the 2020 fall athletic high school season will open on time.
San Diego Unified and Los Angeles Unified school districts issued a joint statement saying they will begin the 2020-21 academic year with online-only classes. Instruction will resume Aug. 18 in Los Angeles Unified and Aug. 31 in San Diego Unified, as previously scheduled. Both districts will continue planning for a return to inperson learning as soon as public health conditions allow.
San Diego Unified said it will reassess Aug. 10 whether it can reopen and when, but the first week of classes definitely will be online.
Sweetwater Union High School District, which starts classes Aug. 3, already announced it would open the fall semester online.
“In the big scheme, this announcement doesn’t have a great impact,” said CIF San Diego Section Commissioner Joe Heinz. “Everything we do will be based on state and county guidelines.
“Whether teaching starts online, it’s a hybrid or a mix of online and in person, everything depends on when we get the green light from the state.
“We can practice and play with online classes if state health officials say it’s safe.”
To this point, however, state health officials have not permitted youth team sports to practice or play.
Dr. Wilma Wooten, public health officer for San Diego County, said Monday any guidance on youth sports would come from the state. That has yet to happen and isn’t expected to happen “for a while.”
As the Union-tribune reported July 1, if guidance from the state has not been issued, “those activities are still not allowed,” according to a spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health.
Heinz said the State CIF Office and the state’s 10 section commissioners are meeting this week and will have a decision on the fall season Monday.
In San Diego, football fall practice is set to start July 30. Practice for boys and girls cross country, field hockey, girls golf, girls tennis, boys water polo and girls volleyball is set to begin Aug. 1.
john.maffei@sduniontribune.com