SPORTS HAVE STARTED
AGAIN At Least For Some by Steve Gamel | photo courtesy of UIL
T
he fall sports season has started. Well, at least for some. The University Interscholastic League announced a tiered 2020-2021 athletic calendar on July 21 that would allow some schools to start fall practices on-time on Aug. 3 while delaying others until Sept. 7.
As part of the plan, Class 1A-4A fall sports programs like Argyle started volleyball games Aug. 10. Cross Country and team tennis started on the 17th. The Eagles’ football team plays its season opener on the 27th. Meanwhile, Class 5A and 6A schools can’t start practicing until Sept. 7, with games starting in the weeks after. This new start date for the UIL’s two highest classifications is roughly five weeks later than normal and is in direct response to COVID-19 concerns. For Murray Media’s coverage area, the 5A/6A schools affected are Guyer, Lake Dallas, Marcus, Flower Mound, Hebron, The Colony, and Justin Northwest. “Our goal in releasing this plan is to provide a path forward for Texas students and schools,” UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt said in a press release. “While understanding situations change and there will likely be interruptions that will require flexibility and patience, we are hopeful this plan 30 | 35 WEST | AUGUST 2020
be impossible to make it ideal for every school and every school district around the state.” Webb was spot-on. The new plan changes the entire makeup of the
allows students to participate in the
typical athletic calendar. Not only have
way that prioritizes safety and mitigates
schedules to fit the new plan, but playoffs
education-based activities they love in a
teams been forced to alter their game
risk of COVID-19 spread.”
and state championship games also have
There haven’t been any games at the
high school level since the UIL suspended practices and games in mid-March as concerns over the coronavirus were
running rampant. The UIL allowed schools to begin strength and conditioning and sports-specific training in early June,
but questions continued to linger over whether or not athletics would resume in the fall. That all changed with the
latest announcement, though the UIL made it very clear that this is a fluid
significant date changes. The state title games for 1A-4A in volleyball and football remain Nov. 18-21 and Dec. 18-19, respectively. But the larger school playoffs begin in early December for football — as opposed to November. The title games will be in January. Meanwhile, the volleyball state tournament for 5A and 6A schools will be Dec. 11-12 rather than before Thanksgiving.
process and that plenty can change
As you attend games, you may notice
coronavirus cases.
also to limit spectators to a 50% maximum
if there is another spike in confirmed “At some point in time, we’ve got to
set dates, and we’ve got to say, ‘These are the dates. We’re playing,’” Guyer
football coach Rodney Webb told the
Dallas Morning News. “It was going to
fewer spectators. Part of the UIL’s plan was capacity for each stadium or gym to allow for social distancing to continue. Everyone must wear face masks. A calendar provided by the UIL is included with this article. www.35WestMagazine.com
