High school sports returning? Yes, but it's complicated

After more than 10 months without competition, some high school sports could return as early as Monday. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) on Dec. 14 released guidelines stating Jan. 25 would be the earliest youth sports could resume in regions where stay-at-home orders are not in effect. The stay-at-home order for the Greater Sacramento region was lifted Jan. 12, meaning some low-contact sports could begin in the most restrictive purple tier of California's roadmap to reopening. The California Interscholastic Federation, which governs the state's high school athletic competition, implemented two "seasons of sport" in July. Under its current calendar, only cross country and skiing/snowboarding are "Season 1" sports that are clear to compete under the state's purple tier. There are still plenty of kinks to be worked out. Other low-contact sports permitted in the purple tier, such as swimming and diving, track and field, golf and tennis, are under the CIF's "Season 2" calendar, which wouldn't begin until at least March. The CIF has been in communication with state and public health officials on a weekly basis, offering recommendations on how to get student-athletes back in play safely and responsibly. But as the coronavirus death toll continues to climb – more than a quarter of California's COVID-related deaths have been recorded since Jan. 1 – the CIF is at the mercy of public health guidelines. "We follow their guidance," CIF State Media Relations Officer Rebecca Brutlag said. "We can only suggest things and we can only go by what they say." On Wednesday, the CIF retracted its temporary waiver of bylaws 600-605 regarding participation in outside club competition. In July, the CIF temporarily waived those bylaws for the 2020-21 athletic season to allow student-athletes to have the most participation opportunities as possible. But with the state's Dec. 14 guidelines on "cohorting," the CIF's hands were again tied. CDPH guidelines state "athletes and coaches should cohort by team, and refrain from participating with more than one team over the same season or time period." This also means multi-sport athletes cannot compete in different sports during the same season. "When new guidance came out, we realized that we can't do that," Brutlag said. "The state says we can't have two-team cohorts." Additionally, with the discovery of recent unsanctioned club football activity in Southern California, the CIF warned "any school determined to have participated in or to be conducting interscholastic athletics events in violation of the State's orders or CIF rules" may be subject to "fines, suspension or dismissal from membership." In an attempt to give student-athletes the greatest chance for as long a season as possible, the CIF on Dec. 1 canceled all regional and state championship competition. The intent was to extend each sport's regular season and give more game play to a broader range of teams. Some parents, coaches and student-athletes have been irked by what they perceive as a lack of leadership or action from the CIF. But the CIF argues it has worked on behalf of its community since the beginning of the pandemic. "We want kids to play sports, and we're trying to make that happen however that may be," Brutlag said. "We're working with the department of health to try to make changes, but that's what we're about. We're in the business of youth sports and education-based athletics. We want students to play sports and we are their biggest advocates. We want to see everyone participate as much as they can." What's happening in the 10 CIF sections? Locally, the Sac-Joaquin Section's Board of Managers is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss options on how to move forward with state guidelines. The absence of a stay-at-home order is a positive for sports in the Greater Sacramento area. The section canceled all fall sports playoffs in mid-December and mulled the idea of having season-ending "bowl" games. However, the remaining Season 1 sports, scheduled to conclude in April, are not cleared to return until counties reach less-restrictive colored tiers. It's up to each section to determine if shuffling sports from Season 2 to Season 1 is viable. Field hockey is the only Season 1 sport that has been approved to return under the red "substantial-risk" tier. Football, gymnastics, girls volleyball and water polo cannot return until counties reach the orange "moderate-risk" tier. The Northern Section is in the only other region not currently under stay-at-home orders. The section's Executive Committee on Wednesday approved the scheduling of competition as long as it fell under the state's guidelines. It also approved the end date for football competition to be pushed from April 16 to April 30. The Southern Section, the largest of CIF's 10 sections, canceled all playoff competition for fall sports on Tuesday. Regular-season fall competition is still in play along with the full plan for its spring sports schedule. The Central Section also canceled postseason play for its fall sports Tuesday and shifted the start dates for more purple tier-approved sports (golf, tennis and swimming and diving) to Feb. 15 with championship competition still in play for those sports. The Central Coast Section has canceled postseason events for all Season 1 sports. According to Cal-Hi Sports, the section has also "given its leagues and sports the flexibility to move up Season 2 sports into Season 1 timelines" with a caveat that "Season 2 playoffs have not been canceled." The Los Angeles City Section on Tuesday canceled playoffs for football, volleyball and water polo but plans to hold cross country championships on March 27. The section will provide an update for Season 2 sports in February or March. The North Coast Section Executive Committee voted to cancel playoffs and championships for all sports in Seasons 1 and 2. The intent was to give all its leagues the autonomy to build their athletic schedules around state guidance as counties move out of the more restrictive color tiers. The San Francisco Section may have the most restrictive path to re-engaging in sports competition. The San Francisco Department of Public Health requires schools in San Francisco County to "have an approved plan for in-person learning in order to engage in physical conditioning, practice or play." A school that has an SFDPH-approved plan may follow the CDPH and CIF guidelines for engaging in athletic activities. The San Diego Section moved swimming and diving from Season 2 to Season 1 to join cross country in the purple tier-allowed sports. While golf, tennis and track and field remain in the Season 2 calendar, the section moved the start dates for those sports up to mid-February. There have been no updates from the Oakland Section.