CIF officials appear ready to delay seasons; will they adopt plan like community college sports?

Northwood players get ready for a play in a game last season. (File photo: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone)

Could CIF state and Southern Section officials adopt a plan for fall, winter and spring sports similar to that introduced last week by the California Community College Athletic Association?

The board of directors of the CCCAA which governs 110 colleges in the state, announced that all sports would be held in two parts in the spring, with football starting in Feb. 13 and ending with post season play on April 17.

There will be no fall sports in the typical months of August, September, October and November for community colleges.

CIF officials will address the high school matter on Monday, July 20. It’s an announcement that will affect hundreds of athletes, coaches and fans throughout Orange County. First, there will be a statement from the CIF State office at 9 a.m., then the Southern Section will respond and in the afternoon, CIF officials will hold a virtual press conference, which OC Sports Zone plans to cover.

With case numbers of the coronavirus continuing to rise throughout the state, it’s pretty clear that football won’t be starting on the scheduled date of Friday, Aug. 21. That’s also based on recent interviews with football coaches and administrators, including Irvine Unified School District Athletic Director Mark Cunningham, who indicated he thought a January start could be in play. The other fall sports will be affected too.

“My gut feeling is it will probably start in January,” Cunningham said of the football season in an interview on July 3.

CIF Southern Section Commissioner Rob Wigod has indicated that CIF officials are commited to having championships for fall, winter and spring sports. They have indicated they will not cancel one season and try and schedule others.

Local athletes, especially seniors, are trying to cope with the day to day uncertainty of what lies ahead. They saw what happened in March when the coronavirus pandemic wiped out most of the spring season, a devastating blow for hundreds of seniors. Now, they’re going through the same anxiety, waiting for direction and answers in a difficult time which presents many challenges as a result of an unprecedented crisis.

But it appears that the options for the CIF are narrowing.

“We’re going to rely on the health professionals and the recommendations that come from the medical experts,” Wigod said in an interview with OC Sports Zone in May.

Wigod made another key point in the interview:

“Our schools obviously need to open, and they need to open for academics first,” he said. “And then at some point, they will decide if it’s time for the athletic teams to come back and begin working out.”

But just this week, large school districts, including Santa Ana Unified, Los Angeles Unified and Long Beach Unified decided to open the school year with on-line classes only. Other districts are following their leads. Some are going to a combination of hybrid and face to face instruction.

Elsewhere around the country, high school athletic associations are juggling their schedules, some moving fall sports to spring. Major colleges are also eliminating non-conference schedules and some have postponed fall sports.

In May, Wigod didn’t rule out football starting as late as January and said all options would be on the table. Now, under the current conditions and with many districts going to on-line schooling only, that may not be realistic either. Cunningham suggested moving football to March, which is being considered by some high school associations around the country, could be possible.

If a tentative plan is approved, CIF and school officials will need to address a number of issues, including safeguards for athletes and coaches, proper conditioning to make sure athletes are ready for competition, contingency plans should an athlete on a team test positive and post-season playoffs.

Transportation could be a major issue too. One athletic director suggested that since social distancing will be required, more buses would be needed. And with school districts possibly facing budget cuts, that could pose a challenge.

So many, including Orange County athletes, wait for Monday’s announcement from the CIF.

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

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