Prep sports now idle until at least Dec. 20
Those anxiously waiting for a return of high school sports will have to wait longer.
On Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced a 12-day extension of the current epidemic order that was set to expire on Tuesday. The 12-day extension will push the order to Dec. 20.
“Hope is on the horizon, but we need an additional 12 days to determine the full impact of the Thanksgiving holiday on our efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus,” Whitmer said.
After the initial three-week order was announced on Nov. 15, the Michigan High School Athletic Association put together a schedule to finish the three remaining fall tournaments for volleyball, football and girls swimming & diving.
That schedule was based on the ability for teams to return to practice on Dec. 9.
Winter sports teams were set to resume practices on Dec. 9 as well with winter competitions being pushed back into January.
“We realize the crisis our medical caregivers and first responders are navigating and understand the need to continue the pause,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said in a statement in response to the order’s extension. “However, the MHSAA had provided a detailed plan to both Gov. Whitmer and MDHHS that would have completed fall tournaments with no spectators as
safely as possible during the month of December, along with allowing winter sports practices to resume. While we are disappointed in today’s announcement, we will continue to look forward as we remain committed to play three sports season to their conclusion. The MHSAA Representative Council will meet on Wednesday of this week to chart out another plan for finishing fall and restarting winter.”
Whitmer was asked about the status of high school sports going forward, and she stressed her focus and the focus of the MDHHS is on getting kids back to schools for education
before worrying about athletic competition. High Schools are currently closed for in-person learning as part of the order.
“As a parent of a high schooler, and as the Governor of Michigan, I believe that our first priority should be getting students back in the classroom safely,” she said. “That I believe is paramount”
MDHHS Director Robert Gordon backed Whitmer’s statement and discussed the challenges of allowing prep sports to resume.
“When it comes to sports there is a range of risk levels and so, at one end you have individual activities that are outdoors and where people are spaced out. On another level you have contact sports outdoors, and another level you have indoor contact sports. As you
go through those levels, the level of risk increases and we have to think carefully about moving through them,” Gordon said.
Last week, Uyl discussed his optimism that fall and winter sports would be able to resume their revised schedules on Dec. 9, calling that a “best-case scenario” in order for the MHSAA to complete three full seasons of athletics.
“We do have another plan. If we are not able to do anything until after January, we will need to go back to the drawing board to say ‘okay when can we finish volleyball, girls swimming and diving,’ and obviously football could not be played in our state in January and February,” he said. “We then potentially look at a possible early spring finish, which nobody wants.”