Schools still waiting on state guidance
Governor reluctant to provide specific rules as COVID-19 surges
As California high school student-athletes and coaches await official guidance from the state on how and when they can begin practicing, Gov. Gavin Newsom remains reluctant to provide any specifics.
With less than a month until most high schools around the state are expecting to hold practices for a fall sports season that has been pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic, Newsom indicated that a spike in COVID-19 cases could force another delay.
“I’ve signed off on (guidance) and we’ve looked to potentially pause it,” Newsom said during a Monday news conference.
California health secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said he’s worked closely with the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) to develop guidelines and parameters for a safe return to athletic competition but isn’t certain when the state will release updated regulations to the public.
“I’ve said a couple of weeks in a row it’s close, but again, we received things as recently as last night that we hope to get out soon,” Ghaly said. “But to the governor’s point about case rates going up very quickly, timing is everything with this.”
Ghaly estimates he’s received more than 1,000 e-mails regarding the restart of prep and youth sports in recent weeks and said developing specific guidance for various types of competition is one of the greatest challenges the state faces. He said there are differences in the risks associated in sports that are played outdoors in which competitors are spread out with contact sports that played indoors and indicated there are still a few logistical hurdles to clear before the public will see state guidance.
“We want to make sure that as we move forward with something as important as youth sports that we do it with eyes in front of us and hoping that we set it up for success so that as it happens, we don’t have to stop it or pause it down the road,” Ghaly said.
According to a tentative schedule set earlier this year, high schools can begin practicing in December and games for the fall sports season including football can take place as soon as January. With Newsom announcing Monday that 41 of California’s 58 counties will now be in the purple, or most restrictive, tier in its reopening plan, it seems inevitable that changes to the high school sports calendar will be made.
CIF acknowledged the governor’s statements in a Monday release of its own, saying in part that the “current guidance remains in effect, and CIF competitions are not allowed until new guidance is provided.”
Newsom said he empathizes with parents and athletes who want to play while signaling that he’s not willing to compromise public health.
“I have a lot of friends with high school-aged kids, even some a little bit younger that are very active in club sports and other sports that have been frustrated by this entire experience,” Newsom said. “My heart goes out and empathy to all of those individual athletes. It’s incredibly important that we do our physical activity safely.”