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By Drew Lawson
The Journal 

WIAA adds fourth sports season

Cross country, softball, golf can be played in fall

 

Last updated 8/6/2020 at 1:45pm



RENTON – Last week, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association created a fourth sports season to accommodate concerns over close contact high school fall sports like football and wrestling. This week, it moved all fall sports to early spring and approved four sports to have “alternate seasons” for the fall.

In a press release July 29, the association announced it had approved alternate seasons for cross country, slowpitch softball, golf and tennis in the fall. Fall sports, or “Season 1,” are tentatively scheduled September 7 through November 1.

Alternate seasons can occur when circumstances deem that certain sports can hold competitions in different seasons of the school year. The number of alternate season competitions can’t exceed the number of regular season competitions, according to the WIAA rulebook.

Cross country, slowpitch softball, golf and tennis will all hold their regular season competition and whatever postseason is approved in Season 3, which is from March 1 through May 2.

Schools must be in at least Phase 3 of the state’s re-opening plan to be able to compete in any sport, even those considered “low-risk.”

The WIAA moved girl’s swim and dive to Season 3. It was previously being considered for the fall. Competitive cheer was also moved to Season 3.

Football teams will now start practice February 17, instead of the previously scheduled February 22 date, to accommodate an increased number of required practices before competition.

Season 2, which has traditional winter sports, was bumped up a week earlier and will begin December 28, “in an effort to avoid overlap of students participating in both WIAA Seasons 2 and 3,” the association press release read.

Schools will be allowed to schedule 70 percent of the “typical allowable” competitions to reflect the seasons being shortened.

The WIAA executive board approved an out-of-season period from August 17-September 27 for all sports not in Season 1, a period in which no coaching is allowed. An out-of-season coaching period was approved September 28-November 30 for non-Season 1 sports, during which coaches can hold practices. Football can hold 20 days of contact practices in this window.

 

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