High school cross country, volleyball and soccer will be delayed this fall but allowed to go forward. Football, meanwhile, remains in limbo.
That was the word Wednesday from the Oregon School Activities Association, whose executive board met for three days in closed work sessions before releasing an update. The OSAA plans to meet again the week of Aug. 3 and changes are possible if not likely.
Here are the key takeaways from the statement issued by Peter Weber, the OSAA’s executive director. Please note that nothing is etched in stone here given the volatility we have come to expect with the COVID-19 issue.
• Cross country, volleyball and soccer will have a first contest date of Sept. 23. Previously, Aug. 27 was the date the OSAA had established to start.
• Football is prohibited because state guidelines do not allow “full contact” activities. Football teams still can lift weights and conduct drills without helmets and pads. The OSAA statement notes that if the football restrictions are not lifted by Sept. 28 it will be difficult to have even a modified regular season or a restructured playoff system.
• The football ban also affects competitive cheerleading as well as dance and drill. Those activities also are classified as “full contact.”
• The first practice date of Aug. 17 for all fall sports remains in place. Athletes must participate in a minimum of nine practices to compete in games.
• Two-a-day practices are prohibited for the 2020-21 school year. Practice sessions are limited to a maximum of three hours, with one hour of weight training allowed before or after the practice.
• Issues such as schools competing in multi-team events and invitationals as well as spectator policies and regional scheduling remain to be determined.
• If fall sports cannot be safely held the OSAA will look at changing the seasonal structure or perhaps stacking or combining the sports seasons. The OSAA said it recognizes that such a change might force schools to choose which activities it can sponsor and that students might have to choose between sports. “But the board believes that a potentially difficult choice is better than no choice,” the OSAA statement says.
Not mentioned in the memo is what happens if an athlete tests positive for the virus. Does the entire team go into some sort of quarantine? What about possible exposure by that athlete to individuals on other teams?
Stay tuned. More questions will come up.
For some perspective, here is what the states to the north and south are doing. Washington has announced a four-season sports calendar, with non-contact sports the only ones starting in September. Washington has football, soccer and volleyball in the contact group and they would be shifted to the spring. California has announced a two-season calendar, with no practices or activities until at least December.
Coaching update: Stayton athletic director Darren Shryock has announced a series of coaching changes for the 2020-21 school year. Here is the update:
• Jordyn Wheeler takes over the cheerleading program.
• April Hermann is the new leader of the Highlights dance and drill program, which won 14 state titles under Robin Meier. Hermann is a former Highlight and assistant under Meier.
• Skip Collins is the new girls soccer coach.
• The volleyball program has three new coaches, head coach Ruth Palfenier, JV coach Taylor Ellis and JV II coach Alyssa Kuenzi.
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THE REACTION
“The OSAA announcement … is met with cautious optimism at Stayton High School. We all very much hope we are able to play sports in the fall. If it truly is pushed back just one month, that is awesome. We want our kids and community to be safe. We believe a major part of being safe is being able to compete in athletics. Sports play a huge role in helping kids feel stable and are a big part of their physical and emotional well-being. We all have our collective fingers crossed that fall sports will resume soon.”
– Darren Shryock,
Stayton athletic director
Follow me on Twitter.com @jameshday.
