Following months of high school athletes and coaches waiting for fall sports to start, only to continuously get pushed back, there's finally an answer on when they can begin.
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association released its amended 2020-21 school year athletic calendar Wednesday afternoon, with only three sports (cross country, volleyball and swimming and diving) set to begin competition in 2020.
“We didn’t put this calendar together based on assumptions," NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker said. "We put the calendar together based on the guidelines from (N.C. Department of Health and Human Services) as it relates to how we could perhaps play sports. We know this is very fluid. It is our hope that as we move forward, and because the calendar doesn’t start until late end of fall, actually right around winter beginning, we hope that the conditions in our state as it relates to this pandemic will have gotten to that point that whenever we hear Dr. Cohen talk, she will be satisfied with those percentages and that the numbers are where they need to be in North Carolina.”
Football has been pushed back to 2021 with practices slated to begin Feb. 8 and regular-season games starting as early as Feb. 26 and running through April 9.
“We put that start date there with the idea that they will have enough days to get in their conditioning," Tucker said. "They have to have eight separate days of conditioning prior to being able to have contact with an outside group or to be able to go full body-to-body contact. This allows that opportunity by pushing it back to Feb. 8.”
Playoff schedules for each sport will hope to be determined and released at a later date, Tucker said.
“This calendar does not reflect playoff dates," Tucker said. "Those are yet to be determined. Those will be put in place with the help of outside groups, our stakeholders, a sports Ad Hoc, such as our athletics directors association and certainly by our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.
"This calendar represents the hard work of the NCHSAA staff, board of directors and various committees such as the city / county athletic directors, Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and the Sports Ad Hoc Committee. There is still much work to be done on the details of implementing athletic programs and contests during this pandemic, but we thank these committees and individuals for their hard work to bring us to this point.”
Football teams are limited to playing seven regular-season games.
“We feel it is critically important to provide opportunities for North Carolina student-athletes to participate, and compete, in education-based athletics,” Dr. Josh Bloom of the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee said during the announcement. “While there are risks with resuming NCHSAA sanctioned athletics, it has also become very clear that there are significant negative consequences with not providing this option to student-athletes. Accordingly, this is an exercise in balance – and we are committed to an appropriate balance of both safety and participation."
Cross country and volleyball teams can begin practicing Nov. 4 and begin competitions Nov. 16, finishing the regular-season by Jan. 8.
"The advantages to participating in education-based athletics are that it helps the physical, mental, emotional, social well-being of our student-athletes," Tucker said. "It’s not just one area. We believe that our coaches in North Carolina provide opportunities for young people to address those various areas. We want our students to have the opportunity to gain the benefits from participating in education-based athletics, but at the same time, we know we must do our part to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
Swimming and diving practices are scheduled to begin Nov. 23, with meets set for Dec. 7 through Jan. 30.
Basketball teams begin practice Dec. 7 and will start the season in 2021, with games set for as early as Jan 4. The regular-season is cut to a month and a half, ending Feb. 19., with teams allowed to play 14 games and limited to two per week.
Lacrosse and boys’ soccer teams can start practice Jan. 11. Games for those sports start Jan. 25 and run through March 12.
Boys’ and girls’ golf, girls’ soccer, softball and boys’ tennis start March 1 with competitions scheduled for March 15 through April 30.
Baseball, girls’ tennis, track and field and wrestling begin practices April 12. Competitions run from April 26 until June 11.
The NCHSAA’s Cheerleading Invitational is set for May 1.
“Our decision-making process has been careful and calculated, as we work to ensure the health and safety of all student-athletes, coaches and administrators during this unprecedented time,” Tucker said. “There is still much work to be done in regard to playoff formats, COVID-19 related rules modifications for numerous sports, securing potential playoff facilities and providing the safest possible regular-season opportunities for student-athletes."
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This article originally appeared on Times-News: NCHSAA overhauls prep calendar, football to start in February