IVC and Saddleback College opt out of first spring sports season due to pandemic

Irvine Valley College and Saddleback College athletics will be opting out of California Community College Athletic Association Spring I Sport competition due to the coronavirus pandemic and the current stay at home order, officials with the two schools announced in separate releases.

Coronavirus cases continue to surge in the state and Orange County remains in the most restrictive purple tier.

In a meeting on Dec. 14, the South Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees accepted the opt-out recommendations for both programs, officials said in releases last month.
 
IVC sports that had been scheduled to be played in Spring I included men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball.

The decisions were made in accordance with a CCCAA ruling requesting member colleges make an opt-in or opt-out decision by Dec. 18.

Irvine Valley and Dean and Athletic Director Keith Shackleford said in the IVC release that if conditions improve and guidelines for the state and region fall in line, IVC teams could compete in the Spring II sports beginning April 10.

Those sports would include women’s badminton, baseball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s volleyball and women’s beach volleyball.

Saddleback College took similar action. However there is one exception. Women’s golf would be allowed to compete if the region moved back to the red tier, officials said in the Saddleback release.

“While the news to opt out of Spring I Sport competition is not news anyone in athletics wants to hear, it does represent an honest understanding of the current and projected status of the COVID pandemic,” Athletic Director Randy Totorp said in a release.

“We balance a fine line of student opportunity with the highest concern, but the safety of our students, staff, and families is at the forefront of this decision.”   

Fall competition sports at Saddleback College included football, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s indoor volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s water polo, women’s golf and women’s soccer.   

Santa Ana College is among the community colleges that has opted in for the Spring 1 season, however officials are continuing to monitor the coronavirus pandemic. Athletes are currently taking conditioning classes.