On Monday, California Governor Gavin Newsom lifted stay-at-home orders across the state, giving the green light for high school athletics to begin play for the 2020-21 school year. However, that does not necessarily mean that high school sporting events will start taking place right away.
Per the guidance set forth by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), high school sports may be contested based on how they have been categorized in the colored tier system created by the state. The vast majority of the state is in the most restrictive purple tier at the moment, although cases have plateaued throughout much of the state in the past week or so.
However, according to a report by the Bay Area News Group, Santa Clara County has issued more restrictive measures that would essentially ban competition between two teams indefinitely.
The new measures prohibit any competition between two "stable groups" except when separated by 25 feet outdoors and in separate rooms indoors. Prep2Prep is not aware of any sports that would fit into this model.
"I can't even put it in words ... I want to start crying right now," Saratoga boys basketball coach Patrick Judge told BANG. "We've worked so hard to get where we were. We kept our kids encouraged. It is so unfair. It is infuriating - there is no data that supports it."
Primary to Santa Clara County's decision, there was optimism surrounding the removal of the stay-at-home order, which technically means that sports in the purple tier can begin to hold competitions right away. In Santa Clara County, that ruling will be superseded by today's announcement, but presumably other counties will adhere to the guidelines set forth by the CDPH.
Here is a breakdown of each of the tiers and which high school sports are allowed to take place in the respective tier based on CDPH's guidelines:
Purple tier (7.0+ COVID cases per 100,000K residents and 8.0%+ positive COVID test rate): cross country, golf, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field
Red tier (4.0-7.0 and 5.0-8.0%): baseball, field hockey, girls lacrosse, softball
Orange tier (1.0-3.9 and 2.0-4.9%): football, boys lacrosse, rugby, soccer, water polo, badminton, gymnastics, volleyball
Yellow tier (< 1.0 and < 2.0%): cheerleading, basketball, wrestling
Sports that have been designated in the purple tier can technically begin competition immediately, but in practice, the decision of when and how to start competition has been passed down to the individual sections, which in turn have empowered their leagues to set their schedules.
The decision to remove the stay-at-home order sets up a scramble to get sports designated for competition in Season 1 to begin play. Leagues throughout California have already issued parameters on the start and end dates of competition, assuming the sport is permitted to take place based on its tier designation.
The window of competition is especially tight for football, which is mandated to complete play by April 17.
The lack of high school sports competition has caused quite a bit of consternation for coaches, parents and athletes throughout the state. In December, Serra head football coach Patrick Walsh formed the Golden State High School Football Coaches Community, whose mission is to present the case that football can be contested safely in the state of California. A parent-run Facebook group called “Let Them Play CA” has drawn over 50,000 members, with the hopes of influencing state government to allow high school sports competition.
Meanwhile, in Southern California, Capistrano Valley High School and Calvary Chapel took matters into their own hands, holding an unsanctioned game on January 16. And while they were not ultimately penalized, the CIF, the state high school sports governing body, did issue the following statement:
"Any school determined to have participated in or to be conducting interscholastic athletics events in violation of the state's orders or CIF rules may be subject to CIF Article 22 sanctions, including, but not limited to, fines, suspension or dismissal from membership."
Furthermore, after rescinding Bylaws 600-605 a few months ago, the CIF decided to once again institute the rule that prohibits players from participating on outside teams in the same sport during their designated high school seasons. The rationale for the change of approach is the recommendation of the California Department of Public Health against kids participating in multiple team cohorts simultaneously.
This is certain to cause a lot of disarray, particularly when considering the lack of certainty of an actual start date for the majority of sports that are not designated in the purple tier. It will effectively force students to choose between playing on their club or high school teams.
