Coronavirus puts Idaho’s high school sports on hold again. And it could go even longer.
Idaho’s high school sports governing body extended the suspension of all spring sports and practices for another two weeks Tuesday due to the spread of the coronavirus.
The earliest sports could resume is Monday, April 20, the same day Idaho’s statewide closure of public schools would expire.
“We thought it’s important, because we are essentially in schools as well, that the dates align,” said Ty Jones, executive director of the Idaho High School Activities Association.
That could be just the start though.
Members of the Idaho State Board of Education discussed Monday possibly extending the school closure through the end of April to follow updated federal social distancing guidelines issued by President Donald Trump. Jones said if the State Board extends the school closures again, the IHSAA would follow suit.
Even an April 20 resumption puts spring sports on a cramped schedule. For example, the 5A and 4A Southern Idaho Conferences planned to start their district baseball and softball tournaments May 2 — just 12 days after the first allowable practices.
The IHSAA previously said it would not push back the dates for its spring state tournaments (May 11-16). Rescheduling those tournaments would create a logistical challenge to find venues quickly. Idaho planned many of its state tournaments this spring outside of its public schools, including the Boise Racquet and Swim Club, Memorial Stadium, city parks and municipal golf courses.
But as one of its contingency plans, Jones said the IHSAA would ask schools if they are interested in extending the season.
“We are going to try to cover as many what-ifs as we can, knowing the vast majority we won’t use,” Jones said. “But hopefully we get to use one of them.”
One possibility that still looms is canceling the rest of the spring sports season.
“Unfortunately, that is a possibility,” Jones said. “It’s not something we like to think about, but it’s a real possibility. You’re running the gamut from we’re back on (April) 20th and able to play, to canceling everything, and everything in between those two.
“Hopefully that’s not the end result. But it’s a realistic situation we are in.”
Idaho’s sanctioned high school spring sports include baseball, softball, track and field, tennis and golf.
The IHSAA previously shut down spring sports two weeks ago until April 5. But the Idaho State Board of Education followed a week later, ordering a longer statewide closure of schools and leaving the IHSAA out of sync.
The State Board will meet again Monday to discuss extending the statewide school closure.
“Our first priority is the safety of our students and school staff, and to provide support to administrators and local boards,” board president Debbie Critchfield said in a news release. “The State Board will continue to discuss what operations will look like when schools do reopen and when it might occur. We’ll gather more information and be prepared for further discussion and a decision next week.”
Athletic directors for the 5A and 4A SIC met Tuesday afternoon and updated their return-to-play plan to include at least five days of practice after the April 20 restart. Tom Shanahan, president of the league, said schools will try to play a spring season if possible. But they are all awaiting word from the State Board and Gov. Brad Little if that’s even possible.
“Anything is better than nothing,” Shanahan said. “Anything we can play would provide some closure. But we are going day to day, week to week and month to month. The question is at what point do you say, ‘Alright, we’re done’?”
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 1:19 PM.
