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WIAA Modifies 2020-21 Season Calendar (Again)

11/20/2020, 12:00pm PST
By NW Juniors Staff

Executive Board Alters WIAA Season Schedule

Published: 11/18/2020
 

RENTON, Wash. - The WIAA Executive Board voted Tuesday to amend the current season schedule for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year, opting to delay the start of WIAA Season 2 to February 1 and shorten each WIAA Season to seven weeks in length.

WIAA Season 2, which consists of traditional winter sports, is scheduled to begin with practices on February 1 (January 25 for gymnastics) and end with a Regional culminating event on March 20. WIAA Season 3, which consists of traditional fall sports is now scheduled to begin on March 15 (March 8 for football) and end on May 1. WIAA Season 4, which consists of traditional spring sports, will begin with practices on April 26 and conclude on June 12.

The decision comes in light of surging COVID-19 cases around the state, putting in jeopardy the ability to begin WIAA Season 2 which was scheduled to begin on December 28.

While the Executive Board approved the framework for each WIAA season, flexibility remains at the local level due to the protocols approved at the November 2 meeting. If less than 50 percent of schools in a classification are able to compete in a sport, in accordance with Department of Health Guidelines, the Executive Board will make an adjustment to the scheduled season in order to allow the chance for greater participation.

Due to the delay of WIAA Season 2 the Board voted to approve an extension of the WIAA Open Coaching Window to January 23. The window allows for coaches in all sports to work with student-athletes in the same fashion as the summer coaching window.

The full WIAA Season schedule can be found here.


[Quoted from WIAA Website]

RETURN-TO-PLAY GUIDELINES

Washington Interscholastic Activities Association

 

PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 6TH, 2020

 

(Oct. 6, 2020) - The Governor’s Office and Washington State Department of Health issued new guidance for returning to education-based sports and activities, Tuesday, using the statistical benchmarks of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in a given county as well as the percentage of positive tests. The WIAA has used this guidance from the Department of Health to develop new general, as well as sport-specific, return-to-play guidelines which will replace those previously tied to phasing in the Governor’s Safe Start Plan. The Governor’s office has informed the WIAA that these guidelines must be followed and neither schools nor community sports programs have the authority to implement more lenient policies.

These revised guidelines give greater flexibility to school administrators to offer education-based athletics and activities and meet the demand of their students and communities. The WIAA Executive Board and staff are pleased with the work that has been done to allow students to be more involved with their schools, as participation in the school setting provides safer and more equitable opportunities for students, especially during this time. Staff will continue to work with decision-makers to evaluate participation in sports deemed high-risk by reviewing all data and documentation available in hopes it may be appropriate to qualify them as moderate risk.

County benchmarks will be used to determine which sports or activities are recommended to take place based on COVID-19 activity in the county. Each county’s status can be found on the Washington Risk Assessment Dashboard along with communicating directly with local health departments. These benchmarks mirror those issued by the Department of Health to aid schools in their decision-making process for models of in-person/remote learning.

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