In meeting with athletic directors, NCHSAA commissioner says multiple plans are on the table
Posted July 30, 2020 12:25 p.m. EDT
Updated July 30, 2020 12:29 p.m. EDT
https://www.highschoolot.com/in-meeting-with-athletic-directors-nchsaa-commissioner-says-multiple-plans-are-on-the-table/19211889/By Nick Stevens, HighSchoolOT managing editor
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The N.C. High School Athletic Association held a virtual meeting with athletic directors from across the state on Thursday morning to share information about the association's approach to sports during the coronavirus pandemic and to answer questions from the schools, HighSchoolOT has confirmed.
Every athletic director from all 421 member schools for the 2020-2021 school year was invited to participate in the meeting.
Commissioner Que Tucker told athletic directors that there is no timeline for implementing Phase 3 of the association's reopening plan. Earlier this week, the NCHSAA announced that it would move to Phase 2 of its plan on Aug. 3. She said any plans to move into further phases would be partly dependent on Governor Roy Cooper moving the state into Phase 3 of his plan.
There have been many questions about the path forward for fall sports, but Tucker stressed there are no solid answers right now. No final decisions have been made about fall sports, but Tucker said there are a number of plans in place that the NCHSAA staff can take to the board of directors depending on a number of factors.
The NCHSAA hopes to play fall sports this fall. However, according to Tucker, if fall sports cannot be played this fall, the NCHSAA will not say fall sports won't be played this year. The association would hope to play fall sports later in the school year instead of outright canceling them.
Tucker said, in the event fall sports can't be played in the fall, her ideal plan would be to start with winter sports in mid or late December, then move to fall sports, then play spring sports after fall sports. This is similar to the plan adopted by the Virginia High School League this week. Tucker said playing past the end of the school year could be on the table if sports are pushed back.
In that scenario, teams would likely be looking at shortened seasons with fewer games and possibly a reduced number of teams in the state playoffs.
Any changes to the calendar will have to be approved by the NCHSAA Board of Directors though.
Tucker said there is no target date for making an announcement about the status of fall sports, but she hopes it will happen in the next two or three weeks.
One of the considerations the NCHSAA will have to make revolves around the school districts that have opted to open the school year with all-virtual learning. Last week, the NCHSAA sent a survey to all superintendents to collect data on reopening plans and ask if districts would allow students to participate in high school sports even if they're doing all-virtual learning.
The survey ended at 12 p.m. on Thursday. That data will be shared with the board of directors in the coming days, but Tucker said there are some superintendents who have already indicated that they will not allow sports to be played while their students are not on campus for school.
Additionally, Tucker said there are some schools who have already canceled fall sports seasons. HighSchoolOT reported earlier this week that River Mill Academy has canceled fall sports, even if the NCHSAA has a fall sports season.
Athletic directors asked questions about the status of realignment too. The 2020-2021 school year is the final year of the current realignment period, but the realignment process has been paused due to social distancing requirements keeping the committee from meeting in-person, Tucker said. The hope is that the committee can meet in August or early September, but if that is not possible, Tucker said the board of directors will have to make "some hard decisions."
NCHSAA bylaws require realignment be done every four years, so some action on realignment will have to be taken before the 2021-2022 school year.