Published August 28, 2020
By DAN PAWLOWSKI and BOB BURGESS
MELROSE — Most Melrose High kids who play fall sports will have to wait a little longer to learn exactly what is going on in 2020.
At a meeting this week, Supt. of Schools Dr. Julie Kukenberger successfully got the School Committee to delay a vote on whether to have local students participate in fall athletics as Middlesex League administrators work towards an agreement while facing the daunting challenges posed by the on-going coronavirus pandemic.
The School Committee is expected to take a vote at its September 8 meeting. According to sources, Middlesex League athletic directors want student-athletes to play this fall, while most school superintendents are said to be against the idea. Both sides are working to find common ground, and are expected to finalize a plan around September 1.
In a much different time, all fall sports teams would now be in the midst of preseason practice and scrimmages. Under the proposal now on the Middlesex League table, those sports allowed under state guidelines would play an 8 to 10 game schedule per team and would play within their division. Melrose would play only Freedom Division rivals, with two weeks of preseason and six weeks of competition.
Districts like Melrose that are not deemed high risk for COVID-19 infections but are starting with fully remote learning must get School Committee approval to participate in fall sports. The city seems to be straddling a line here. Because some students will be returning to the classroom on September 16 and school officials have already submitted a hybrid start plan to the state, the city technically is not beginning its return to instruction in a fully remote mode. However, the School Committee also decided to have most kids learn totally remotely for at least the first four weeks of the 2020-21 academic year, which the School Committee is using as a way to vote on whether to have student-athletes return to the playing field this fall.
Earlier this month, the group that oversees high school sports — the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association — officially voted for a revised high school athletic calendar.
Based on a recommendation from the MIAA COVID-19 Task Force, in addition to guidelines from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) the MIAA voted to push the start date of the fall season to Sept. 18.
The revised season schedule is: Sept. 18-Nov. 20: fall sports; Nov. 20-Feb.21: winter sports; Feb. 22-April 25: fall sports II (football, cheer, unified basketball), April 26-July 3: spring sports.
The task forced identified sports that they feel will be safe to play from Sept. 18 to Nov. 20 for the fall season which include boys’ and girls’ soccer, fall gymnastics, boys’ and girls’ cross country, field hockey, girls’ volleyball, swimming and diving, and golf.
Typical fall sports, football, cheerleading and unified basketball are scheduled for Feb. 22 to April 25 but they may be allowed to practice sooner. That decision is up to individual schools.
Schools will also have the ability to adjust dates with the approval of their District Athletic Committee which would allow flexibility if certain schools can’t play sports right away or have to postpone a season at some point. The board also voted to allow out of season coaching from Sept. 18 through July 3 as approved by a school principal.
The board voted to encourage schools to create a fall schedule within leagues or geographic regions. They also voted to allow student athletes to participate in all four seasons for the 2020-21 school year.
The board voted that there will be no fall MIAA sponsored tournaments. Districts/leagues can host their own. MIAA tournaments for the other seasons are to be determined.
All passed votes were unanimous except for the out of season coaching motion which passed 13-7.
Sport committees will come up with modifications to fit guidelines from the EEA report. According to the DESE report, “the MIAA will develop sport-specific modifications to meet the guidance from EEA for issuance prior to the start of each season.”
The fall season’s lower risk sports, as identified by the EEA, include swimming, cross country, gymnastics and golf. Soccer, field hockey and volleyball are in the moderate risk category which require modifications in order to practice and play games. The DESE report stated that both low and moderate risk sports can be played in the fall, “provided that the MIAA’s recommended sport-specific modifications meet the standards outlined in the EEA’s guidance.”
High risk winter and spring sports such as basketball, hockey, wrestling and boys’ lacrosse will continue to be evaluated through the year.
Participation for school districts planning on only remote learning will be based on their town or city’s average daily cases per 100,000 resident designation from the Department of Public Health. Districts in municipalities designated as “red” must postpone their entire fall season, including practices, until the floating season of Feb. 22 to April 25. There are currently no Cape Ann League schools in any red designations. Georgetown is in a yellow designation. Lynn, Saugus, Salem and Revere are some nearby communities that are currently in the red.
The MIAA will develop a timeline for looking at data prior to the start of each season to determine which color-coded designation a district should fall into for the purposes of playing sports.
Middlesex League administrators are currently working on schedules and modifications for the fall season.
