BREAKING: CIF Delays All Sports, Condenses Seasons

Jul 20, 2020

Revised at 6 pm

It will be another five months of waiting before high school athletics in most of California will resume, the State CIF office announced Monday.

High school sports, which have been on hold since mid-March as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic, have been rescheduled to resume in December with all sports broken into two seasons and the athletic calendar now running into late June, the State CIF office announced with a post on its website.

The news comes following meetings with commissioners from each of California's 10 sections.

As explained in the release from the San Diego Section: "Specifics of the plan provides for two seasons of sport, which will serve to maximize the length of each season while not eliminating any athletic opportunities in a reduced athletic calendar for the year."

The State set the framework for sections to build their individual calendars for league and section competition.

The State office set the following dates for cross country:

March 20 as the last day for section playoffs
March 27 for the CIF-State Championships set for March 27.

And the following dates for track and field:

June 19 as the last date for section playoffs
June 25-26 for the CIF-State Championships

The novel coronavirus pandemic forced the stoppage and eventual cancelation of the high school athletics the second week of March, cutting off state championship competition for winter sports and ending the spring sports season less than four weeks after it began.

Details from each of the state's sections trickled in throughout the day Monday with the Central Coast and San Diego sections delaying their calendar release until later this week, and the 73-school Northern Section announced it would stick to the original calendar and forego State Championship competition. The NS covers a vast rural area bordering both Nevada and Oregon state lines, regions that are far less effected by the COVID-19 pandemic than other parts of the state.

Rob Wigod, the commissioner of the Southern Section, which includes nearly 560 schools, by far the largest in the state, released a statement in advance of his scheduled early afternoon news conference.

"From start to finish, the focus has been on how we can serve the young men and young women we are so fortunate to serve in the best way we possibly can, and I commend everyone involved for never wavering in their support of that philosophy," Wigod said in the release.

Wigod, in his wide-ranging afternoon new conference, made the point of saying that athletics are only possible if students are on campus. He said Governor Gavin Newsom's announcement Friday that blocked on-campus learning for schools in counties on the state's COVID-19 watch list, "reinforced" the CIF's decision to push the calendar five months ahead.

"The game-changer in all this is the ability for schools to be open," he said.

The Southern Section calendar, released Monday morning, includes all sports grouped under the "Fall" season, including cross country, beginning in December.

The following is a breakdown from the Southern Section release of key elements of the revamped scheduling:

Two Seasons - Fall and Spring - In examining the most effective way to deliver Fall, Winter and Spring sports for the 2020-2021 school year, the decision was made to condense three seasons of sport into two seasons of sport, primarily to help with the spacing between particular sports and the overlap of certain sports between seasons.
Length of Regular Seasons - Regular seasons, some of which were 83 days (Soccer), 81 days (Basketball), 64 days (Football) and 57 days (Girls Volleyball) already had quite a range, in terms of the length of their seasons in previous years. We believe that to help with the overlap of seasons, affecting student-athletes, coaches and facilities, we would standardize the length of the regular seasons to approximately 72 days, for those who previously had more days than that, while leaving the others with less than 72 days alone. In doing so, we would help with the issues mentioned, but keep in mind that we are not imposing any reduction on the maximum number of allowable contests, per CIF Bylaw 1206, in any sport. The total number of days in some sports will be reduced, approximately 5%-12%, but schools can still play the same number of maximum allowable contests, if they choose, in that smaller window.
Section Championships - The 2020-2021 sports calendar includes full Section Championship experiences, which means the same number of champions in each sport, the same number of divisions in each sport and the same number of guaranteed entries from leagues advancing to the playoffs in each sport, as in previous years.
CIF Regional/State Championships - The CIF State Office has made the decision to streamline the CIF Regional and CIF State Championships competitions/tournaments to no longer than one week, once our Southern Section Championships have concluded. More details on format, dates, etc., will be forthcoming from the CIF State Office.

"We are continuously monitoring the directives and guidelines released from the Governor's Office, the California Department of Education, the California Department of Public Health, and local county health departments and agencies as these directives and guidelines are followed by our member schools/school districts with student health and safety at the forefront," read the release from the State office.

"As these guidelines change, CIF Sections may allow for athletic activity to potentially resume under the summer period rules of the local Section. Also, given this calendar change, the CIF has temporarily suspended Bylaws 600-605 (Outside Competition) in all sports for the 2020-21 school year (see below for more specific information related to these changes)."

ADDITIONAL DETAILS FROM THE STATE RELEASE

Temporary Extension of Bylaws 501.F and 501.G (Summer Period)

Given that the CIF has moved the start of its traditional seasons of sport to December 2020, once allowed by the appropriate state and local agencies, CIF Sections may extend their summer period up until the first date of their Fall regular season sports calendar. All summer period activities must be authorized by the member school's principal/designee. As per CIF Article 23, local schools, school districts, leagues, and Sections may develop a more restrictive rule than the CIF State Office with respect to the aforementioned Bylaws.

Temporary Reconfiguration of Bylaws 504.E. and H. (Season of Sport)

As per the 2020‐21 sports calendar above, the CIF has made adjustments to the traditional seasons of sport. Each CIF Section will release their own calendar to reflect regular season starting and ending dates and Section playoffs. It is anticipated that most Section start dates will commence in December 2020 or January 2021.

Temporary Suspension of Bylaws 600‐605 (Outside Competition)

Due to the need to move sports to non‐traditional times of the year, the CIF is temporarily suspending Bylaws 600, 601, 602, 603, 604, and 605 for all sports for the 2020‐21 school year. Accordingly, students will be allowed to participate on an outside team at the same time they participate on their high school team. As per CIF Article 23, local schools, school districts, leagues, and Sections may develop a more restrictive rule than the CIF State Office with respect to the aforementioned Bylaws.

Each of the above Bylaw modifications are effective as of July 20, 2020 and remain in effect for the 2020‐21 school year only.

Please see the link below for the CIF State Constitution and Bylaws:

https://cifstate.org/governance/constitution/index

2020-2021 SPORTS CALENDARS - JULY 13, 2020

FALL SPORTS