KHSAA outlines first steps to resumption of high school sports amid pandemic
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association took the first steps Thursday to getting athletes back in action since all of its activities were shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Complete guidance covering the first few phases of reopening are expected to be released as soon as Friday, but the KHSAA Board of Control’s discussion during a Zoom meeting Thursday afternoon provided an outline of what will be allowed. The meeting was streamed on the KHSAA’s YouTube channel.
KHSAA actions Thursday included:
▪ Beginning June 1, coaches can begin organizing with their players in groups of fewer than 10 in accordance with state social-distancing guidelines. These are informational meetings only with no athletic activity.
▪ Beginning June 15, coaches in all sports can begin having workouts in accordance with the “youth sports” guidelines released by Gov. Andy Beshear on May 22. Those guidelines specify that practices must be in groups of fewer than 10 with social-distancing rules observed.
▪ Beginning June 29, all sports can begin practices with up to 50 present while still subdivided into groups of 10 players to a coach. However, “high touch” fall sports like football, soccer and volleyball still cannot conduct game-like situations and must instead focus on conditioning and skills training as specified by state guidelines.
▪ The traditional dead period from June 25 to July 9 was eliminated.
▪ The KHSAA affirmed that no rules from it would contradict state guidance going forward.
The elimination of the traditional dead period drew the most debate. It is during this time that high school coaches normally are to have no contact with their players and all facilities are to be closed. It’s intended to give year-round athletes a small reprieve, but on the heels of being home for months during the pandemic, many thought it should be shelved.
“We have to be ready to do some things differently going forward,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett advised the board ahead of their deliberations on Thursday’s actions. “What I’m trying to tell you what I really think is valuable is: Let’s get these kids back with their coaches sooner rather than later.”
The board decided by a 13-5 vote to eliminate this year’s normal hiatus. Concerns about whether players would feel pressure to attend voluntary workouts during a time when they might have scheduled vacations was a concern voiced by some board members, but others argued that as school administrators (many are school superintendents), it was up to them to make sure coaches didn’t hold missed voluntary workouts against their players.
“We do have to ensure that it is voluntary, because people make their schedules well in advance before all this happened, but I don’t think we need to keep a dead period now based on the fact that we’ve basically had a dead period since March 16,” said board member Scott Hawkins, Woodford County superintendent.
While the board cleared coaches to meet with players beginning June 1, the KHSAA specified that it’s up to each individual district as to whether school facilities will be open. The KHSAA expects campus openings to depend on local decisions based on the outbreak circumstances in each location.
The board limited its measures Thursday to the period from June 1 through July 9 and made no determination when full practices, scrimmages and games could resume in sports like football, soccer and volleyball.
The pre-pandemic KHSAA calendar would have let football teams begin practicing July 10 with other fall sports following on July 15. Early-season activities usually include tryouts, skills and conditioning work and, for football, maybe some 7-on-7 scrimmages against other teams.
Tackett said recommendations on those activities would have to wait for further data on the coronavirus and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and the governor’s office. The governor has made no determination about games and scrimmages for high touch sports such as football.
The state guidelines for youth sports released last Friday by Gov. Beshear, specified a number of phases and conditions for restarting youth sports activities. While not initially thought to include high school athletes, the CDC has since clarified youth sports to include anything below college level.
Among Kentucky’s guidelines were the classification according to health risks of sports the KHSAA sanctions:
▪ Low touch, outdoor: track and field, biking, tennis, golf, mini-golf, horseback riding, cross country, and baseball/softball.
▪ Low touch, indoor: swimming, diving, bowling and archery.
▪ High touch, indoor: basketball, cheerleading, team dance, volleyball, and wrestling.
▪ High touch, outdoor: football, soccer, and field hockey.
All are cleared by the state and the KHSAA to begin workouts on June 15.
Since March 12 when play was halted on the second day of the Girls’ Sweet 16 state basketball tournament, high school athletics have been in a “COVID dead period.” Coaches have been able communicate with players, but can’t organize in-person training, practices or team events. Under that restriction, all campus facilities are to remain closed through Sunday.
CDC and state guidelines and recommendations recently set forth by the National Federation of High School Associations of which the KHSAA is a member, both call for strict, daily health screening procedures for athletes, coaches and staff before earning clearance to participate and also mandate thorough disinfecting protocols and prohibitions on sharing equipment, clothing and especially water bottles. They also call for cloth masks to be worn by coaches, staff, fans and players not actively involved in aerobic activities.
Thursday’s move comes after high school associations in other states, including Ohio, Tennessee and Missouri, have lifted some restrictions on resuming activities. Texas on Friday immediately allowed outdoor sporting events with fans up to 25 percent of stadium capacity. The Southeastern Conference last week cleared its member schools to open their facilities on June 8. On Wednesday, the Kentucky Youth Soccer Association released its plan for the resumption of training for its member clubs under typical restrictions beginning June 15.
