Broward, Palm Beach waiting for green light

Still no start date announced to allow fall practices to go

Two weeks after the FHSAA Board of Directors voted to allow fall sports practices to start on Monday despite the coronavirus pandemic, most Broward and Palm Beach teams are still waiting for a green light.

The Palm Beach County School District announced during a press conference on Tuesday that athletics were still on hold, while the Broward County Athletic Association has not announced a potential start date. The Greater Miami Athletic Conference has not announced a start date, either.

The BCAA encompasses all of the public schools in Broward County and several charter and private schools, including Cardinal Gibbons and Chaminade-Madonna.

Some private schools — including reigning three-time Class 3A state champion Chaminade-Madonna — do not have to abide by the BCAA’s decisions and have started practicing.

There was a protest outside the Palm Beach County School District building on Thursday where players and those who support them pushed to be allowed to start the season.

At the FHSAA’s Board of Directors meeting on Aug. 14, the organization’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee recommended further delays.

The sports medicine committee recommended several benchmarks that should be met before beginning practices: a percent positive rate of new cases below 5% over a seven-day rolling average for at least 14 days, an effective reproduction number of under one for at least 14 days, a downward trend in new cases per 100,000 people in a population over 14 days, and at least two weeks of practice time before the start of competition.

The FHSAA is starting the football season on Sept. 4. Schools and districts will have until Sept. 18 to decide whether they will play in the state series.

MIKE STOCKER/SUN SENTINEL Players go through drills at Chaminade-Madonna on Thursday in Hollywood. Chaminade has started football practices, while most Broward County schools have not because of the COVID-19 pandemic.