Commissioners are preparing for normal fall season

Football and water polo players, cross country runners, girl golfers, tennis and volleyball players are all making preparations for their first full season, largely uninhibited by COVID-19 restrictions, since this time two years ago. Practices are set to start in the coming days for 120-plus high schools around the Bay Area (Friday in the Central Coast Section, Monday in the North Coast Section) to kick off a season that officials hope will resemble something closer to prepandemic than anything else in the past 16 months.

No testing. Full attendance. Few masks. Welcome to high school sports in fall 2021.

Football and water polo players, cross country runners, girl golfers, tennis and volleyball players are all making preparations for their first full season, largely uninhibited by COVID-19 restrictions, since this time two years ago. Practices are set to start in the coming days for 120plus high schools around the Bay Area (Friday in the Central Coast Section, Monday in the North Coast Section) to kick off a season that officials hope will resemble something closer to pre-pandemic than anything else in the past 16 months.

“My anticipation, as I told our member schools, is that we are good to go,” CCS commissioner Dave Grissom said.

“I think we’ll have some hiccups along the way. We’re gonna have some road bumps,” NCS commissioner Pat Cruickshank said. “But if we stay the course, I think we have an excellent opportunity to have our seasons and to create an amazing experience for our kids.”

Grissom and Cruickshank said they are awaiting further guidance from the California Department of Public Health.

The only current rules on the books require that masks be worn indoors at K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status. Of the seven sports offered in the fall, though, only girls volleyball takes place inside; athletes in other sports may still have to mask up for training that occurs indoors.

In an email response to an inquiry from the Bay Area News Group, CDPH said, “Youth sports teams should follow current CDPH masking guidance and FAQS. Please see Guidance for Face Coverings. Should the guidance be updated in the future, we will make an announcement.”

That means power up the lights Friday night and pack in tight on the metal bleachers. There are no more restrictions on fans, either (though some schools or districts may choose to enforce stricter rules). And, importantly, with a number of marquee opponents from outside the region on teams’ schedules, no limit on travel.

In fact, both commissioners spent a chunk of their summer reimplementing regular order in their respective rule books after a pandemic overhaul in the spring. The NCS opted against hosting section playoffs in the spring, but they are “one hundred percent” returning this fall, Cruickshank confirmed.

Local health officials have limited their new measures to indoor mask mandates amid the delta variant’s surge. Elsewhere this week, Hawaii became the first state to puts its fall sports season on hold and mandated all high school athletes receive the vaccine. In Arizona, vaccinated athletes and coaches won’t have to isolate if they do not show any symptoms after coming into contact with somebody who is Covidpositive.

In California, there is no requirement for high school athletes to receive the vaccine — which is approved under an emergency authorization for anyone 12 and older — and also no special treatment for anyone who has been vaccinated.

“At this point we have nothing,” Cruickshank said in terms of guidance from CDPH. “I’m expecting that we will get something. But based upon the past year, you’re never quite sure when that’s going to happen, and that’s how I’ve communicated it out to our schools.”

On Friday afternoon, Grissom will be back out on a high school field, somewhere.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “To watch part of a (football) practice. Or field hockey, whatever it is, and have just some normalcy.”