Aug 21, 2020 4 min read

High school athletes throughout Pennsylvania can head to the starting line, tee it up or toss the ball for the first serve.

The PIAA announced Friday it’s going ahead with plans to start sports seasons despite Gov. Tom Wolf’s recommendation to wait until January of 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PIAA board gave the green light to the start of fall sports when it voted 25-5 to approve formal preseason practices beginning Monday at those schools permitted to do so by local school boards.

“The PIAA Board of Directors has heard the thousands of voices of student-athletes, parents, coaches, officials as well as community leaders that have contacted us. We remind those individuals who have strongly advocated for athletics that they must keep strict adherence to school health and safety plans. All individuals involved in interscholastic athletic communities have a role in the health and wellness of all participants,” a PIAA news release issued following the vote read.

Pennsylvania was the last state to make a decision about whether high school sports would be played or delayed until the spring.

“It was not even fair to our kids what they were doing,” Jefferson-Morgan athletic director Scot Moore said. “They had been jerking our chain back and forth. The schools, it seemed, were caught in a tug of war between the PIAA and the governor’s office.

“I’m glad we’re going on. Our kids had been working hard and we’ve been one of the schools that has said let’s give this a try and see where it goes.”

The PIAA’s decision comes as many school districts across the state have wrestled with the decision about falls sports during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the WPIAL, Uniontown and Summit Academy have decided against playing football. Uniontown also will not compete in boys or girls soccer.

Before sports teams can begin competition, each must get approval from their school board.

For now, local athletes can breathe a sigh of relief.

“I think it’s good news for those on the side of wanting to play,” said Mapletown athletic director Linda Messich, who also is a member of the WPIAL board of directors. “Personally, I feel we can comply with the guidelines and provide as safe a situation as possible. We feel comfortable with our plan.”

All fall sports can begin practice Monday. That includes football, which has a mandatory five days of heat acclimatization practices before contact practices.

Golf will be the first sport to return to competition. It’s first playing date will be Thursday. The WPIAL had recently released schedules with golf matches for some teams set for Monday and Wednesday.

There are still many issues to be resolved before all sports can start. One of the sticky situations is in Allegheny County, which has a gathering limit of 50 people, which makes sports like football impossible, even at the Class A level.

The Allegheny County Health Department and WPIAL issued a joint statement Friday afternoon and announced new guidelines for outdoor sports competitions that will allow fall sports to go on. They allow for three 50-person “pods.” Each team’s sideline will be considered a separate pod and the players and officials on the playing field will be considered another pod.

Executive director Bob Lombardi said the PIAA is still exploring options to have liability insurance for the organization and to provide schools with it, but he cautioned that it might be cost prohibitive.

“We will work through it,” he said.

Lombardi said it’s still possible to have two fall sports seasons, if enough school districts decide to postpone until the spring. He added the PIAA is advocating for spectators, especially parents of athletes, to be allowed to attend the sporting events.