WIAA changes course: Fall sports now up first, beginning in February
Fall sports could make their return next month across the state in Washington. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Executive Board met on Wednesday and voted to amend its season schedule.
Under the WIAA’s previous plan, basketball, wrestling and gymnastics were scheduled to start first. But athletic directors across the state have grown increasingly supportive of pushing indoor sports back, allowing lower-risk, outdoor sports to go first.
Traditional fall sports — football, cross country, golf, girls soccer, girls swim and dive, tennis, volleyball — are now also scheduled to begin Feb. 1., provided local school districts give their athletic departments the green light. The season is slated to run through March 20.
“The change in guidelines allow all traditional fall sports to be played in Phase 2 while we still do not have a clear pathway to the high risk indoor activities of basketball, competitive cheer and dance, and wrestling” said WIAA Executive Director Mick Hoffman in a statement. “With that in mind, moving fall sports to Season 1 will hopefully provide the most opportunities to participate.”
The WIAA’s board met following the most recent set of covid reopening metrics from the Governor’s office, which came Tuesday. The “Healthy Washington” plan begins Jan. 11, splitting progress into two phases and grouping counties into regions. King, Pierce and Snohomish counties are now grouped into a region together, while Thurston County joins Grays Harbor, Lewis and Pacific counties.
To go from Phase 1 to Phase 2, regions must meet all four of the established metrics:
- Decreasing trend in two-week rate of COVID-19 cases per 100K population (decrease >10%)
- Decreasing trend in two-week rate new COVID-19 hospital admission rates per 100K population (decrease >10%)
- ICU occupancy (total — COVID-19 and non-COVID-19) of less than 90%
- COVID-19 test positivity rate of <10%
The new guidance creates a clear path for the majority of traditional high school sports. But for football, the path is murkier. While sports considered low and moderate-risk will be allowed to begin practices in Phase 1, football is considered a ‘high risk’ sport.
In Phase 2 of the plan, low and moderate risk indoor sports would be permitted to hold competitions, and all outdoor sports would be allowed to hold competitions.
In short, football will still be on hold until regions move into Phase 2 of the new “Healthy Washington” plan. The WIAA said it’s planning to work further with the Department of Health for better clarity going forward.
“We are hoping to receive more details that were not included in the Governor’s announcement on Tuesday, particularly surrounding indoor sports and activities,” Hoffman said. “As we continue to gather more information and evaluate the new metrics, the Board will be able to make better decisions about the remainder of the year.”
The WIAA will review Seasons 2 and 3 at its Jan. 19 meeting.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 9:36 PM with the headline "WIAA changes course: Fall sports now up first, beginning in February."
