This story is sponsored by: All Insurance of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STEVENS POINT – The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Board of Control approved a new calendar for when high school sports will begin for the fall season.
In an 8-3 decision, the Board approved conducting the fall sports season with a delayed start. Girls golf, girls tennis, girls swimming and diving, and boys and girls cross country will be permitted to begin practice Monday, Aug. 17, with the earliest dates for competitions set for Aug. 20 for golf, Aug. 21 for tennis, and Aug. 25 for cross country and swimming.
The earliest practice day for football, boys soccer, and volleyball will be Monday, Sept. 7, with competitions allowed to begin Sept. 15 for soccer and volleyball, and Sept. 23 for football.
Football was scheduled to begin practice Aug. 4.
The changes were made due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the cancellation of the state girls and boys basketball tournaments in March, and the entire spring high school sports season.
While the delayed starts allow schools some extra time to acclimate proper safety and health protocols, it does not guarantee anything.
Numerous school districts across Wisconsin have already announced plans to start the upcoming school year with online classes, leaving extracurricular activities in limbo. One conference, the Big Eight Conference which includes Beloit Memorial, Janesville Craig and Parker, Madison East, La Follette, Memorial and West, Verona, and Middleton, has officially cancelled all conference competitions. Schools may play a nonconference schedule.
Marshfield High School Athletic Director Nathan DeLany said he was pleased the WIAA made a decision to give schools some time to prepare.
“It was a positive decision that allows schools a little more time to prepare for a return to school and athletics,” DeLany said.
DeLany added that the athletic directors from the Wisconsin Valley Conference will be meeting Friday to discuss the WIAA’s announcement to postpone the start of the fall season.
“Time is going to tell,” DeLany said. “We’re not in a hurry to make any drastic decisions. We want to make sure coaches, athletes and students are ready to return, with the necessary steps to compete, perform and enjoy what they do.”
The Board indicated the season may or may not culminate in the traditional tournament series. In the statement released by the WIAA, “the length and beginning of the tournament series will be determined in the coming days.”
For those schools unable to start fall sports, an opportunity will be available in the spring to conduct their fall seasons, the WIAA stated. The Board directed the executive staff to develop details and calendars for an alternative three-sport season in the second semester of the 2020-21 school year to be presented at a later date, the statement said.
“Because of the Board’s action, while they can’t make any guarantees that things will work out as we plan them, they have given us the opportunity to at least hope and work in that direction,” WIAA Executive Director Dave Anderson said in the statement. “We understand this decision will make some happy and others disappointed, but we will do our best to deliver to our membership what they have directed us to do.”
The WIAA is set to hold another meeting regarding the fall season on Aug. 14.