Southern Section addresses concerns

CIF-SS sends news release to outline COVID-19 scenarios

The CIF-Southern Section outlined some common questions surrounding COVID-19 and prep sports in a press release sent out on Thursday afternoon.

“In response to the latest developments related to the Covid-19 virus, I wanted to reach out to our member schools, school districts, school communities and the general public through our website and social media platforms, to help clarify the situation from our perspective,” said CIF-SS commissioner Rob Wigod in the release.

The release noted that the CIF-SS is too large to have just one plan in case of an outbreak within member schools and encouraged schools and district administrations to make reasonable decisions that are in line with health officials.

“We will respect and support those decisions and stand by to help them in any way we possibly can,” the release said.

Currently, there are no CIF-SS upcoming events that have canceled or rescheduled, according to the release. If the virus is still of concern entering the playoff and championship season, the CIF-SS will itself make decisions in advance.

The CIF-SS remains in contact with the CIF State office as well as the surrounding sections in California. On Tuesday, March 17, all 10 CIF section commissioners will meet in Sacramento to talk about possible courses of action if the spring

season will be affected by COVID-19.

The CIF State website is posting continuous updates on how the virus is affecting prep sports, which can be viewed at https://cifstate.org/sports-medicine/coronavirus.

The site encourages schools to limit non-essential personnel in locker rooms before and after games and advises student-athletes to opt for a fist bump as opposed to handshakes before, after and during games.

“The health and safety of our students and our school communities is our highest priority,” Wigod said in the CIF-SS release, “and we will always keep that in the forefront of any decisions that are made in the time ahead.”