The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Board of Directors on Tuesday unanimously approved the COVID-19 Task Force’s recommendation that the start date for fall sports be pushed back to September 14.
That start date will apply only to the sports that are allowed to be played by the forthcoming guidelines from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
“We will ultimately have to wait for the guidelines from DESE and the EEA in coordination with the Governor’s office to know whether we will be able to offer a full slate of fall athletics,” said Board of Directors president and Marshfield superintendent Jeff Granatino. “We are putting together plans in the hope there will be sports.”
While there is still not a set date for when the guidelines from the DESE and the EEA will be released, the Task Force recommended to the Board that they meet again three business days after the DESE and EEA publish their guidelines for K-12 fall sports. The Board unanimously approved the motion.
“The task force felt that it was important to have a timeline to respond to the forthcoming guidelines,” said Task Force co-chair and St. John’s Prep athletic director Keith Crowley.
“The hope is that as quickly as the Task Force can get the recommendations from DESE and EEA, they will come together and give everyone a much better idea of how fall sports might look,” added Task Force co-chair and Duxbury athletic director Thomas Holdgate.
The Task Force will work on a number of proposals in the meantime while waiting for the guidelines to be released. Some of the proposals in the works include reviewing the health and safety guidelines that will be released by the MIAA Sports Medicine Committee and arriving at a recommendation for postseason tournament play for the 2020-2021 season.
But one of the biggest proposals the Task Force will work on will be arriving at a “recommendation for how educational athletics can be leveraged as a social emotional learning support should schools be in a remote learning model during the 2020-2021 school year.”
DESE Commissioner Jeffery C. Riley also joined the virtual meeting on Tuesday, telling the Board of Directors, “We’re asking districts to think about opening back up schools. Obviously we don’t control the trajectory of the virus, nor do we control the financials. We have asked districts to make three plans — in person instruction for all students (w/restrictions), remote learning, and the hybrid model (in person and remote).
“If we are able to come to school, the question is, what can we have?” Riley said. “”If we can do sports, we’d certainly like to do it. But only if they can be done in a safe way.”
Riley also noted to the Board of Directors that some sports may have to be modified in order to be played. When asked about whether some sports can be played or if they will be lumped into an “all-or-nothing” scenario, Riley said that the DESE would look at all possibilities.
“”I think we are looking at everything. I cannot say it would be an all-or-nothing situation at this time,” Riley said. “I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point.”
Riley concluded his time in the meeting by telling the Board of Directors that recommendations for the fall sports season are likely to come in early August.
There was also a discussion among the Board members concerning a proposal from the Northeastern Conference and the Cape Ann League that was tabled at the May 13 meeting. The proposal concerned schools potentially receiving rebates of fees after spring sports were canceled. The Board unanimously voted to send the request along to the Finance Committee, which meets in August. Any recommendation that comes from the Finance Committee will then be voted on by the Board.
In other news from the meeting, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to suspend the traditional end-of-game handshake protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also unanimously approved the application of Pioneer Charter School of Science II (Saugus) to become a member of the MIAA.
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected].