CIF playoffs for spring sports, including basketball, baseball and softball planned

CIF post-season playoffs will be held for a number of spring two sports, CIF Southern Section Commissioner Rob Wigod said Monday.

The CIF had to cancel playoffs for football, cross country, girls volleyball and water polo earlier this year. Teams were alowed to have abbreviated regular season schedules.

But with infection rates for the coronavirus virus improving and guidelines being updated in counties throughout the state, the playoffs for many sports will go on. The entire athletic calendar was adjusted due to the pandemic, which put a hault to high school sports last March.

“Due to recent changes to the California Department of Public Health Guidelines for Youth Sports, we are excited to announce that we are prepared to go forward with Section Championships for the following season two team sports … baseball, boys/girls basketball, boys/girls lacrosse, boys/girls soccer, softball, boys/girls team tennis, boys volleyball and boys/girls dual neet wrestling,” Wigod said in a statement to principals and athletic directors and shared with the media. 

Wigod added that CIF officials are working on “securing approvals from various county health departments to ensure that we can conduct championship events involving student-athletes from all eight counties within the Southern Section footprint. More information will be coming soon as we attempt to finalize plans going forward for these individual sports. “

Those sports are boys/girls golf, boys/girls swimming/diving, boys/girls Individual tennis and boys/girls track and field, he said.

Wigod added that the section will not be able to conduct section championships for boys and girls individual wrestling.- 

“It is classified as a high-contact indoor sport,” he said. “Current CDPH Guidelines do not allow tournaments of any kind for Individual wrestling and it has been that way since the 2020-2021 school year began. Without the opportunity for tournaments available to our member schools, and the limited time we have remaining before those championships are scheduled to be held, we will not be able to conduct Section Championships for boys/girls individual wrestling in season 2.”

Wigod will be holding a press conference Monday afternoon to discuss the playoffs.

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