CIF championships for fall sports cancelled due to pandemic but seasons still on

CIF officials announced Tuesday that post-season championships for football, boys and girls water polo, girls volleyball and boys and girls cross country have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, Southern Section Commissioner Rob Wigod said in a report to principals and athletic directors and shared with the media that regular seasons for those sports are still on, provided that state, county and local officials allow it. Football season is scheduled to last through April 17.

“Today, I must regretfully announce that we are cancelling our 2020-2021 CIF Southern Section Fall Sports Championships due to the COVID pandemic,” Wigod said in his letter.

Wigod outlined the reasons:

“There has not been enough progress made from the purple tier toward the orange tier for football, girls volleyball and boys/girls water polo to even begin competition this season,” he said.

“Subsequently, there will not be sufficient time for those sports to conduct viable league play, which is necessary for us to be able to conduct section championships in those sports. As for boys/girls cross-country, which is currently in the purple tier and can begin competing next week, provided the stay at home order is lifted in Southern California, the ability for us to host a Southern Section Championship in one location and have student-athletes from all seven counties within the Southern Section footprint be allowed to travel to that single location is not realistic. 

“The time remaining in the fall sports seasons can now be utilized by our member schools to schedule contests. Therefore, with no CIF Southern Section Championship or CIF State Regional or State Championships taking place, the sports listed below, provided they are able to begin competition at some point in the time ahead, will have the following end dates for their seasons… 

“Boys/Girls Cross-Country – Saturday, March 27, 2021; 8-Man football – Saturday, April 3, 2021; 11-man football – Saturday, April 17, 2021; girls volleyball – Saturday, March 20, 2021; boys/girls water polo – Saturday, March 20, 2021. 

“We are not cancelling the entire seasons for our fall sports, we are cancelling the portion of the fall sports seasons that we have direct control over, Southern Section Championships.

“Hopefully, the additional weeks now available during the fall sports season will be useful to our schools in the effort to have regular season and /or league competition in the time ahead. We strongly support our member schools in returning to play, provided the guidelines distributed by the California Department of Public Health, and local health authorities are adhered to. We will continue to do all we can to advocate our position to those entities as well.”

Wigod added that spring sports remain in place.

“Several of our spring sports are in the purple tier, which means they can begin as planned, again, provided there is not a stay at home order currently in effect in Southern California. Also, if progress can be made moving forward, we are hopeful that other sports will be able to join those in the purple tier when they reach the appropriate tier for those sports.

“Similar to the way the fall sports situation played out, we would do the same thing for spring sports. At some point, probably in early or mid-April, we would determine if we are able to conduct Southern Section Championships in our spring sports and would make the appropriate announcement regarding the status of those championships at that time.”

The announcement comes as the state continues to have a surge in coronavirus cases and most counties remain in the most restrictive purple tier. Officials with the California Department of Public Health have said some sports could start as soon as Jan. 25 but the stay at home order could be a roadblock.

Wigod also addressed the seriousness of the pandemic while expressing hope for the future.

“These are extremely difficult times for everyone involved,” he said. “This may be the darkest period we have experienced throughout the 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we look ahead, the holidays are now behind us, although the surge from that time frame is still being felt and is hopefully close to ending.

“Vaccines are arriving and inoculations are happening every day. Perhaps we will see case rates, hospitalizations and deaths begin to decrease and relief will come to our health care system. With those developments, the conversations with the Governor’s Office, the California Department of Public Health and local health authorities regarding return to play can take on a different tone and real progress could potentially be made. I know you join me in the belief that we must go forward doing everything possible on behalf of our student-athletes.”

Wigod will hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com