And even that comes with so many ‘ifs’, things could change almost overnight.
The SHSAA executive council met Wednesday to review information with regards to the many plans and public health orders surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, deciding that sports other than golf would start no earler than Sept. 14 across the board, including cross country, soccer, football and volleyball. Golf – which has seen regular play and provincial championships played this summer – will start on Sept. 8.
“The executive believe that a gradual and methodical approach to re-introducing school sport is warranted to assist the entire process of re-opening schools,” said SHSAA executive director Lyle McKellar in a press release. “A gradual return to school sport will allow teacher coaches and student-athletes an opportunity to gain an understanding of, and become comfortable in the new school environment while looking forward to a re-introduction of school sport.”
Sept. 14 will mark the overall beginning of the season for four fall sports, with the registration of teams and players, formation of mini-leagues and future competitions and team training beginning at that time.
Competition will begin on Sept. 28, with cross country meets running as late as Oct. 17, while league play in soccer will go until Oct. 31, football until Nov. 14 and volleyball until Nov. 28.
As an example, the opening games for the SHSAA 12-Man Rural Football League took place on Sept. 9 in 2019, Yorkton won the championship on Nov. 3 and the Vanier Vikings boys volleyball team capped their season with their school’s third provincial title of the year on Nov. 21.
On the subject of provincials and even league playoffs, no plans have been put in place yet and will be dependent on SHA public health orders, sports and activity guidelines and the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan at that time.
Furthermore, tournaments and interprovincial travel will not be allowed, and crowds could be severely limited unless provincial guidelines change, as indoor gatherings of up to 30 are permitted where space allows for two metres of physical distancing between participants. Outdoor gatherings of up to 30 people are still permitted with appropriate physical distancing.
The SHSAA plans to review and update their plans on a regular basis as more information and further guidelines
