High school basketball season delayed in the 5A, 4A SIC. Here’s when it will start.
The Treasure Valley’s largest high schools will delay the start of their basketball and wrestling seasons by two weeks.
The 5A and 4A Southern Idaho Conferences announced the delay of all winter sports in a joint statement from local superintendents Friday — three days before girls basketball teams planned to start tryouts.
The postponement comes as coronavirus case numbers continue to rise in the region and throughout the state, hospitalizations reach an all-time high and some hospitals in Eastern and Northern Idaho hit their capacity.
The two-week delay gives schools a chance to reset and limit any spread between teams in different seasons, said Jason Warr, the activities director for the West Ada School District.
“Our goal is to get to the end of the season,” Warr said. “We just want to get kids into a district tournament and a state tournament.
“Like we’ve shown in the fall, it’s not how you start. It’s how you finish.”
NEW START DATES FOR PRACTICE, GAMES
The delay pushes the start of girls basketball practices from Monday to Nov. 16, boys basketball from Nov. 13 to Nov. 30, and wrestling from No. 16 to Nov. 30.
It also pushes back the first games and competitions to Nov. 30 (girls basketball) and Dec. 11 (boys basketball and wrestling).
The delay does not apply to Treasure Valley schools in the 3A, 2A, 1A Division I and 1A Division II classifications. And Idaho’s high school sports governing body will not issue any statewide postponements.
The board of directors for the Idaho High School Activities Association rejected an unspecified delay in a Thursday vote. It did the same in the fall, leaving decisions to local schools.
CONFLICTING COVID-19 GUIDANCE
Schools throughout Idaho and the Treasure Valley are left to navigate a series of health recommendations from various governmental agencies.
On Monday, Gov. Brad Little moved the state back to Stage 3 in the Idaho Rebounds plan, which limits indoor gatherings to 50 people but does not restrict youth sports. The SIC’s statement says it has not determined how to “handle spectators” but will make a decision as the first games approach.
“We encourage all of our communities to follow the advice of health and medical professionals to reduce the spread of the virus so health alert levels will drop,” Kuna Superintendent Wendy Johnson said in a news release. “Please wash your hands, wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart and get a flu shot.”
The Southern Idaho Conference covers two public health districts — Central and Southwest — which sometimes leads to conflicting advice. Winter sports teams in Ada County will not host any activities until Nov. 16. But teams in Canyon and Gem counties, part of Southwest District Health’s jurisdiction, will host open gyms with school staff present, the SIC statement said.
Central District Health recommended pausing all games and competitions Oct. 9 when a county is in the highest category of community spread (red). Ada County has remained in the red for each of the past three weeks and shows no signs of leaving it anytime soon. But the Boise, West Ada and Kuna school districts all continued their fall sports schedules.
Central District Health’s recommendations say practices can occur in red, “provided that appropriate physical distancing occurs” with individual or small-group drills. It identifies wrestling as the highest-risk sport, on the same level with football. It calls basketball a “medium-high” risk alongside soccer and volleyball.
Meanwhile, Southwest District Health has not issued any new guidance specific to youth sports. It uses different definitions for the level of community spread and has not placed Canyon or Gem counties into the red category.
Canyon County remains under an orange health alert while Gem County is in a yellow health alert in the latest assessment.
The winter high school sports season is the longest in Idaho. It stretches over 14 to 16 weeks, allowing schools flexibility with the calendar. Fall sports (minus football) last 10 to 11 weeks, and springs sports are packed into 10 weeks.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 12:25 PM.
