FHSAA pushes back fall sports return date
Last Thursday’s FHSAA Board of Directors meeting wrapped up far quicker than the nearly five-hour emergency meeting three days prior, and the group decided this time to make more time for data.
The board passed a motion to move the date fall sports teams could resume formal practices from Monday to Aug. 24 with an 11-4 margin. The motion, which was proposed by Doug Dodd, also included a provision to have the board meet again in person during the week of Aug. 10 to examine new data gathered by the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) and then determine how best to proceed.
Teams will still be able to hold conditioning and workout activities in the meantime, just as they’ve been doing. Though Monday was initially supposed to be the earliest date in which teams could start practicing again if they wished to, board members in favor of the postponement cited school districts pushing back their own classroom return dates and the FHSAA itself not providing official guidance to superintendents and athletic directors as reasons to hit the pause button. The FHSAA and SMAC will examine COVID-19 data in the coming weeks and create said guidance to give athletic departments what Chris Patricca said they have been requesting for some time now.
The four dissenters of the vote were concerned that the guidelines would be misinterpreted by schools as FHSAA-mandated requirements and preferred more local control over when athletic programs should be able to return.
Register for 2020-21 LHSHL season
Hockey players interested in playing for Durant High School’s team in the Lightning High School Hockey League can register now for the upcoming 2020-21 season.
The season will include 22 regular-season games with 20 hours of practice ice. More than 600 players are expected to fill 20 varsity rosters. The cost to register is $50 and the process can be completed online at lightninghighschoolhockeyleague.sportngin.com/register/form/502300294.