May 11 remains target date for an opening
Published April 17, 2020
By JENNIFER GENTILE
FRANKLIN—The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s (MIAA) Board of Directors met via teleconference on Monday and unanimously passed previous recommendations from the Tournament Management Committee about the makeup of a spring high school sports season, tentatively scheduled to kick off after May 4 when schools are (at press time) scheduled to reopen under the directive of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.
One of the biggest votes was the elimination of state tournament play. All spring sport’s postseasons will be capped at sectional tournament titles. There will also be no Super 8 tournament for baseball.
The MIAA also voted to approve temporary guidelines that ease out-of-season contact between coaches and student-athletes. Rule 40 of the MIAA Handbook has been waived this spring. Coaches will be allowed to contact players on a limited basis and with condition prior to the start of the season.
All qualifying rules for tournament play remain: teams earning at least a .500 winning percentage, finishing in the top two spots of a league, or qualifying via MIAA’s “Sullivan rule.”
The MIAA also unanimously approved start dates, end dates and cutoff dates to the season. The spring season will begin no earlier than May 11 and end in sectional tournament play by June 27. Playoffs will have a June 12 cutoff date, a June 13 seeding, and a June 15 tourney start, which applies to tennis, baseball, softball, lacrosse, volleyball and rugby. There will be a June 21 cutoff for track and field, with sectional championships June 27-28.
Golf will have a June 11 cutoff with sectional tournament play only. There will be no individual tennis tournaments.
The next meeting of the MIAA was scheduled for early May but should be considered fluid given the ever-changing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.
