Whereas nonetheless awaiting up to date steerage from the California Division of Well being, the North Coast Part introduced that it was taking motion on Thursday to offer its leagues the autonomy to interrupt away from the Season 1/Season 2 format whereas remaining in accordance with their county pointers.
The unique plan referred to as for conventional fall sports activities to be performed in Season 1 from January to April whereas most conventional winter and spring sports activities to be performed in Season 2 from March to June. State steerage, primarily based on color-coded COVID tiers, wouldn’t have allowed for a lot of of these Season 1 sports activities to happen as initially scheduled.
Nonetheless, so long as a regional stay-at-home order is in place, that may nonetheless forestall prep sports activities from going down.
“With enter from our member faculties and League Commissioners, the Government Committee took motion at the moment to maneuver ahead with our calendar by giving leagues the autonomy to construct their season of sport calendars across the steerage from the California Division of Public Well being, the native counties that their league resides in, and the approval of their member faculties and districts,” NCS commissioner Pat Cruickshank wrote in a letter to NCS members schools.
“This motion will likely be topic to approval by the Board of Managers at their January 29, 2021 assembly.”
If accepted by the Board of Managers, the choice would fall to NCS leagues about whether or not or to not undertake this format or follow the unique Season 1/Season 2 format. If leagues select the color-based various season, competitors would start no sooner than Feb. 1.
The ultimate date for allowable competitors for NCS member faculties is June 12.
The tiers and the sports activities permitted in every one break down like this:
- Purple: cross-country, golf, tennis, monitor and discipline, swimming and diving
- Purple: baseball, softball, ladies lacrosse, discipline hockey
- Orange: soccer, boys lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, water polo, badminton, volleyball
- Yellow: aggressive cheerleading, basketball, wrestling
“What this implies is, if accepted as offered, leagues will set their seasons of sport primarily based on the colour tier that their county resides in and the sports activities allowed in that tier,” Cruickshank wrote. “Purple sports activities can have the flexibility to go off first as soon as the county and faculties have accepted it. Then as soon as counties transfer into the pink tier, the league will likely be allowed to start that season of sport at a time that most closely fits them. The identical will likely be accomplished for the orange and yellow tier sports activities.
As of Tuesday, all however 4 counties in California — together with the whole Bay Space — remained in essentially the most restrictive, purple tier.
Whereas no sports activities had been moved up or down throughout the color-tier system, the NCS made a number of different bulletins on Thursday.
State and regional championships had already been cancelled when a return to play was pushed to Jan. 25 final month. The NCS introduced that ought to leagues break free from the Season 1/Season 2 format then no part championships would happen this season.
“The management advocated for starting the seasons and having essentially the most alternatives for our college students to play,” Cruickshank wrote.
Pupil athletes could solely compete in a single sport at a time. Soccer season have to be accomplished by April 17 for the Fall 2021 season to start as projected on Aug. 9. Soccer stays within the second-least restrictive orange tier. That, paired with the April finish date, retains soccer season in jeopardy.
