The return to play guidelines for high school, youth, club and adult sports that weren’t supposed to come at least until Jan. 1, 2021 came a little early.
Reaction has been swift on social media about the extensive list of guidelines released by the California Department of Public Health on Monday evening. Some have said the plan is a starting point, others say it changes the rules again and is unfair to athletes of some sports.
The department made it clear that no high school sports can start until at least Jan. 25, 2021 and that a tiered system will be used for each county to determine when specific sports can start. It looks like the low-impact sports such as cross country, golf and swimming and diving could possibly start first, but that has not been confirmed.
In order for football and water polo to happen, counties would have to drop back into the safer orange tier, and that’s going to take some signficant strides in the right direction with most counties now in the most restrictive purple tier and coronavirus cases surging throughout the state. CIF officials have not wanted the football season to last beyond the middle of April, but Monday’s announcement may cause them to reconsider.
It’s believed that CIF officials are meeting all over the state to discuss a plan moving forward to determine what sports can safely happen and perhaps shuffling some sports around.
OC Sports Zone has a lot of questions about this plan and we’re hoping to get some answers on the latest announcement in the coming days. Athletes, coaches and fans have found out that conditions on return to play can change at any moment.
We want to know how Monday’s announcement will affect the planned CIF seasons and whether there is flexibility which would allow moving sports to different tiers or different seasons. We also want to know about football and what chances the sport will be held in 2021.
Thom Simmons, assistant CIF commissioner said by Email Tuesday that the answer to these questions is:
“We are awaiting more guidance from the CIF State Office. After we receive such, we will be happy to comment.”
Those comments are expected to come Wednesday morning.
Simmons said Tuesday evening in a separate Email that the CIF will be “releasing new guidelines, as provided by the California Department of Public Health in consultation with the CIF State Office, on the requirements for a return to competition for the high school athletics in the CIF Southern Section.”
Simmons confirmed that CIF Southern Section Commissioner Rob Wigod is still planning to meet virtually with Orange County high school football coaches this week and that Wigod is still intends on providing an update for the CIF Southern Section on Jan. 19, 2021 regarding the 2021 sports calendar.
As we learn more, we will continue to bring you up to date.
-Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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