CIF says high school athletics will go on, hopefully beginning winter season, if CIF deems it safe

Fall sports – football, volleyball, water polo, cross country – have effectively been postponed until a new starting date in late December and early January. However, some teams have been participating in limited practices during the past few weeks.

Both the California CIF office and the Central Section office, recently located to Fresno upon the appointment of former Lemoore High School Athletic Director Ryan Tos, made their decisions while continuously monitoring the directives and guidelines released by the governor’s office and the California Department of Public Health.

“After much consideration, the decision was made to change from the traditional three-season format to a two-season format,” stated Tos in his Monday morning press release. “It became clear that trying to condense three seasons into six months did not provide as many opportunities as the two-season model. The overlap between the seasons in a three-season model would have been challenging for three-sport athletes while also dramatically shortening the seasons for those students who play one or two sports.”

Each CIF section office will release its calendar to reflect regular season starting and ending dates and section playoffs. The CIF effectively, because of the pandemic, shorted the traditional sports year from three seasons to just two as most sports from late December to the end of the traditional school year.

In his memo, Tos, who heads up the Central Section office, said that over the past few months, the situation has continuously changed, and it wasn’t until Monday that the CIF finally released a calendar that effectively postpones all the fall and spring sports to the winter season and spring seasons.

For example, according to the schedule released by the CIF, high school football, which usually starts in late August or September, can begin its official practice sessions on December 14 and play its first game on January 7. The last CIF game is slated for March 19.

The same holds true for Lemoore’s other fall sports. Cross Country, volleyball, and water polo are all slated to begin practicing on December 14 with their first officials contest scheduled for December 28.

All of Lemoore’s traditional winter and spring sports, including baseball and softball, will play their contests starting in March. 

However, according to the CIF memo, as schools open and students return, provided state and local health authorities deem it safe to do so, schools can begin their pre-season preparations as they see fit, depending on what is allowed by health authorities during that time period.

Tos said that any activity that was previously allowed during the summer would be permitted from August through November.

The CIF appears to have cleared the way for Central Section playoffs, but it has decided to streamline all regional and section championships into one week. More information is forthcoming, stated the CIF office.

In his memo, Tos said that the new schedule allows for normal section championship experiences and opportunities in all sports. The only exception is that football playoff brackets will be 8-team brackets, allowing schools to maintain an 11-week regular season to play ten games. “We will be working on a plan for football playoffs that will not eliminate any teams from the playoffs and will add divisions if necessary,” he said.