The New York State Public High School Athletic Association announced on Tuesday that the start date for high-risk winter sports would be January 4, 2021.
This includes basketball, competitive cheerleading, ice hockey, and wrestling.
“The NYSPHSAA membership has expressed concerns pertaining to the increase in infection rates,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “Minimizing risk and exposure to COVID-19 is a top priority of the Association. We continue to make these types of decisions based upon readily available information and communication with state officials.”
NYSPSHAA says that low- and moderate-risk sports practices are still scheduled to begin on November 30 for those schools and sections that see it feasible to do so.
Those sports include bowling, gymnastics, indoor track and field, skiing, and swimming and diving.
“NYSPHSAA’s leadership recognizes the numerous challenges interscholastic programs are experiencing and the obstacles associated with resuming high-risk sports,” said Julie Bergman, NYSPHSAA President. “While it is certainly the goal of the Association to provide all students with the ability to participate in interscholastic athletics, we must remain steadfast in our decisions to ensure the safety of our athletes is our focus.”
PRESS RELEASE:
BREAKING: @NYSPHSAA is postponing the start of the basketball, cheerleading, hockey and wrestling season until January 4th, 2021.
NYSPHSAA “has expressed concerns pertaining to the increase in infection rates” of COVID 19@13WHAM pic.twitter.com/skdQikPjVr
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) November 17, 2020
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].