WILSONVILLE – Meeting in a closed work session on Wednesday, July 22, the Oregon School Activities Association released today some not so encouraging news concerning fall sports.
The status of a fall football season grew somewhat darker as OSAA announced that due to the contact involved in the sport, football is prohibited. A further review to again have football is not scheduled by the OSAA, but the board stated restrictions must be lifted to September 28 in order to have a modified regular season. Under current conditions, the status of football is not looking good for this year.
The news is somewhat brighter for other fall sports. Cross Country, volleyball and soccer will have the start date of the first contest pushed out to September 23 rather than the current date of August 27. Unclear at this time is if volleyball players will need to wear masks during matches.
The board earlier stated changing fall sports to the spring season was off the table. The statement appears not so clear now as the board stated the OSAA will “exhaust all options for these activities including shifting, condensing, or stacking seasons, like our neighbors in Washington and California, with the fundamental objective of providing participation opportunities for students.”
OSAA acknowledged actions they may take in the future may force schools into choosing which programs will be offered and force students into making a choice between sports offered at the same time.
Joining football in prohibited sports is cheerleading and dance/drill. Due to the contact involved in these sports, the student athletes will join their football counterparts on the sidelines as of now.
For those athletes participating in cross country, volleyball and soccer, practice day will be shorter. The OSAA set new guidelines limiting practice to three hours with an additional one hour allowed for weight training.
The board also addressed student athletes wishing to take a year off to return next year with full eligibility. The board disallowed any type of this behavior.
