Virginia High School League elects to postpone sports to December
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (BVM) — Sports will happen by year’s end in Virginia, but they will happen a bit later than everyone expected when the year began. On July 27, the Virginia High School League voted to delay all VHSL sports and adopt a condensed plan for sports. This would mean an adjustment in the sports schedule where fall sports would be moved to the spring while winter sports would begin in December and spring sports would begin in April.
Under this format, winter sports such as basketball, indoor track and field, gymnastics, swimming and diving and wrestling begin on Dec. 14 and go to Feb. 20 with the first contests beginning Dec. 28. Fall sports, which will see the biggest adjustment, would begin Feb. 15 and go to May 1 with the first contests beginning March 1. The sports that would move from fall to spring would include football, cheer, cross country, field hockey, golf and volleyball. Spring sports such as baseball, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field and tennis would also be affected as the spring season would run from April 12-June 26 with the first contest being held April 26.
“We all understand the physical and mental health benefits of getting our students back to a level of participation,” VHSL Executive Director Dr. John W. “Billy” Haun said in a press release. “The Condensed Interscholastic Plan leaves open the opportunity to play all sports in all three seasons if Virginia moves beyond Phase III and/or Phase III guidelines are revised and high risk activities are allowed. This plan also allows schools the opportunity to open the year and get school started and deal with issues such as schedules, academic plans, transportation, dealing with possible outbreaks of COVID in the school.”
The model, known as Model 3, was one of three models that could be chosen by the VHSL and was heavily supported, passing with a 34-1 vote. The other models, Model 1 and Model 2, would have had much different outcomes for the VHSL. Model 1 would have left all sports in the current season which would allow low to moderate contact sports of golf and cross country to continue while canceling field hockey, football, volleyball and cheer. Model 2 would have seen the fall and spring sports switch seasons where the low to moderate sports of baseball, softball, track and field, tennis and soccer would be allowed while the high risk sports of boys and girls lacrosse would be canceled.
In a post-announcement press conference, Haun said the dates of the seasons are subject to change and the model will only be used if the state remains in Phase III of its reopening with it subject to change if those mandates change. Events will be limited to 250 people, both athletics participants and fans, and schools and teams will still be allowed to participate in out of season conditioning and practices according to Haun.
Haun also said the VHSL Executive Committee will meet again on Aug. 24 to discuss the playoff outlook for all sports to see if they will occur this school year or not. Haun admitted that canceling the league’s state events could have a “huge impact” since 35-40% of the league’s income comes from state events, but if events can happen even with smaller crowds this could still have a positive impact at all levels, according to Haun.
While the VHSL’s decision may not be supported by everybody, Haun made it clear that this decision was made with the schools, athletes, and coaches best interests in mind.
“This has been an extremely difficult decision,” Haun said. “(We) know how important high school activities are to our student-athletes, to our coaches, to our parents and to our school communities. This was not a decision that was made lightly. Everybody took this very, very seriously.”
While time will tell if this model becomes the one used by the VHSL, Haun said the league will be monitoring changes and adjusting as they come.
“The VHSL will continue to work closely with the best available information and directives provided by the Governor, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE),” Haun said.