5 things to watch regarding fall sports

The most intriguing, contentious and nerve-wracking summer in the 106-year history of the PIAA climaxed Friday when the state’s high school sports governing body voted once and for all — we think — to proceed with fall sports.

After months of fits and starts, hand-wringing and anxiety, athletes and coaches were back on the field Monday (in some sports) for the official start of practice.

It wasn’t easy getting to this point given the multilayered health challenges presented by COVID-19, the wide-ranging opinions on such, and the layers of institutions that had a say in all of this: The Centers for Disease Control, the state Department of Heath, the state Department of Education, the PIAA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, the governor, the state legislature, the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee, the PIAA and its various districts and leagues and — last but certainly not least — local school boards.

Often the messages have been conflicting or unclear, leaving the kids who play the games dangling

in the balance.

It all seemed to come to a complete halt Aug. 6 when Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf voiced a “strong recommendation” not to play youth sports until Jan. 1.

PIAA leadership pressed on, buoyed in its belief that with adherence to strict health and safety protocols athletes can safely play ball.

The final — we think — stamp of approval came Friday via a 25-5 vote by the PIAA Board of Directors.

The look of consternation mapped across the face of PIAA executive director Dr. Robert Lombardi following that vote indicates we’re not done yet.

Not by a mile. Much remains in the balance.

With non-contact sports practices set to begin Monday, with football a week later and soccer, field hockey and girls volleyball a week after that, here are five looming issues:

1. HOW MANY SCHOOL DISTRICTS

WILL OPT OUT OF

FALL SPORTS IN THE COMING WEEKS? » Reading High for one bagged its fall season even before Gov. Wolf’s bomb dropped. Many school districts across the commonwealth have done likewise, including the biggest, Philadelphia.

Will we see more in the days and weeks to come as nervous school administrators pull back? Many changed their stance on inclass learning recently after new Department of Education guidelines were announced.

Among the biggest reason schools may opt out is ... 2. LIABILITY » The PIAA has catastrophic insurance that protects it from lawsuits, including those over injuries to athletes. However, the policy doesn’t cover communicable or viral diseases.

If schools aren’t protected from the almost certain lawsuits that will emerge when there are coronavirus outbreaks, will they pull the plug on sports?

Lombardi asked the governor, and later state legislators, for help; don’t hold your breath waiting for that

SPORTS WILL TRANSFER? » The PIAA effectively tightened its transfer rules a few years back and Lombardi has stated repeatedly that they won’t be relaxed in this COVID era. If anything, district committees may be more stringent than ever in reviewing eligibility cases.

The PIAA doesn’t want to send the message that COVID is a convenient excuse to bend or skirt its rules.

This, in turn, could force student-athletes to nonPIAA schools or out of state.

4. WHAT’S THE SEASON GOING TO LOOK LIKE? » Early advice: Don’t print schedules because they’ll be out of date before the ink is dry.

We’re looking at a potentially chaotic fall, with schedules changing by the minute as schools and leagues opt out or if coronavirus outbreaks force schools to shut down athletics.

This will be particularly difficult for football, which is played just once a week. If your school is informed on Tuesday or Wednesday that its next opponent has shut down, there’s little time to find a replacement.

A football team that is shut down faces a lengthy quarantine period that could cause it to miss as many as three games — essentially half of this truncated season.

5. WHERE WILL YOU BE WHEN THE GAMES BEGIN? » Unless you’re officially part of the team or medical staff, in the band, a cheerleader or with the media, you’re going to be outside the stadium looking in.

The governor has capped outdoor gatherings at 250 people and the PIAA at this point is not allowing any spectators — not even Mom and Dad.

That’s a heartbreaking scenario for all.

Gov. Wolf doesn’t seem inclined to budge on this but something tells me the state legislature will get involved to relax the 25/250 indoor/outdoor limits.

Lombardi is pushing for a 25% of capacity limit, which seems reasonable and in line with guidelines for restaurants and bars.