Michigan High School Fall Sports To Begin As Scheduled: MHSAA

MICHIGAN — High school fall sports will begin as scheduled in Michigan, the Michigan High School Athletic Association announced Friday. However, schedules will have contingency plans in place for potential interruptions due to the coronavirus.

The MHSAA Representative Council, the Association’s 19-member legislative body, met virtually with MHSAA staff Wednesday to discuss a series of ideas for playing sports beginning in August. The Council will meet again July 29 for further discussion.

“Our student-athletes just want to play, and we’ve gone far too long without them playing. But doing so safely, of course, remains the priority,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “Our plan moving forward is Fall in the Fall, starting on time. We’re excited to continue moving forward to bring back sports safely. It’s important for keeping students in our schools and keeping students in our sports programs.

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“We remain grateful to the Governor for the opportunity to build the schedule and policies for returning sports to schools. We will continue to support her directives and those of the state and local health departments as we work to create the safest environment for all involved in our activities.”

High school football practices are scheduled to begin August 10, with all other Fall sports to start practice Aug. 12.

The MHSAA is moving forward with a plan that first calls for all fall sports to be started and played as scheduled. However, if the situation deems it necessary, the start of some or all fall sports practices or competitions could be delayed, the organization said.

The next step in the plan’s progression calls for lower-risk fall sports that can be played to be completed, with higher-risk fall sports postponed until later in the school year. If all fall sports must be suspended, they will be rescheduled during a reconfigured calendar that would see Winter sports begin in November followed by the conclusion of fall and spring seasons potentially extending into July 2021, MHSAA announced.

The council said it considered a concept that would swap traditional fall and spring sports, but determined that was not a feasible plan.

Football, girls volleyball, girls swimming & diving and boys soccer during the fall are considered moderate or high-risk sports because they include athletes in close contact or are played indoors; they were considered the impetus for potentially switching all Fall sports to Spring. But traditional Spring sports — girls soccer and girls and boys lacrosse — carry similar risk, MHSAA said, negating the value of making that full season switch. Moving only selected Spring sports, like all low-risk to fall, was not considered sound because it would force student-athletes to pick between sports they’ve previously played, the group said.

Plans remain reliant on progression by schools and regions across the state according to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Safe Start Plan. Currently two regions are in Phase 5, which allow for limited indoor activity, while the rest are in Phase 4 and unable to host indoor training, practice or competition.

The MHSAA staff said it is building policies related to the coronavirus for all fall sports and will make those guidelines and precautions available to member schools as the season approaches. Those policies will follow up what was presented to schools for summer offseason training, which began June 1 across the state and has seen thousands of student-athletes participate.