Fall Update (ALMOST there!)

We've had a lot of great news from different state agencies the past few days, but we aren't completely cleared yet, so I wanted to clarify things since there's been some information out there that isn't totally accurate.

Short Version

The MIAA (state governing body for athletics, for those of you that are new to HS sports) had their Board of Directors meeting today, and voted to approve the following recommendations.

Fall Sports can start practice on Friday, September 18th, the season would end on November 20th

No MIAA Fall Tournaments - for XC, "tournaments" mean no Eastern Mass/All-State type meets.

Winter season would be November 30th to February 21st

"Fall 2" season would be February 22nd to April 25th...this as of now just covers Football and Cheerleading, which were deemed "high risk" sports traditionally held in the fall. The hope is by February, they'd be able to compete, either with modifications to their sport or vaccine/public health improvements.

Spring season would be April 26th-July 3rd.

However, despite what's been published in different newspapers, this does not mean that we're officially guaranteed a fall season in Taunton. It looks great, but there are two more hurdles....the Hockomock League has to approve it, and the Taunton Board of Health also has to agree as well. This information should he available soon, and I'll update you when news arrives.

Long Version

On to the details...

You may have seen that the state classified towns into three main categories based on their number of positive cases per 100,000. Red (8 or more per 100K), Yellow (between 4 and 8), and Green (Less than 4). Technically there's a White category for having 5 or fewer total cases, but that really only applies to towns with a very small population.

A town in the Red category can't compete in athletics. They'll be evaluating towns based on data on Sept. 1st, as well as Oct. 1st to see how things are progressing. As of August 12th, Taunton had a rate of 3.2%, putting us in the Green category. To give you a scenario if things spiked by October 1st and we were above 8%, they would stop the season for us.

If you want fall sports, keep wearing a mask!

Back to the details...

What's the schedule going to look like?

The reason the state didn't want fall tournaments is to avoid having schools from different regions competing with each other. On that note, although nothing's been announced, I don't think it's unreasonable for me to predict that invitational meets (Bay State, Coaches Invite, and yes, Twilight) will most likely not be held this year since they draw teams from all over the state.

Any schedule - and this goes for your friends in the "ball sports" - is likely to be local, entirely within the league, with the lone possible exception being competing against teams from the same State District. The Hockomock League is in a "State District" with the Bay State Conference and Tri-Valley League. For those unfamiliar, the Bay State Conference schools are mostly along Route 9 and 95, while the Tri-Valley League schools are along or just inside 495 as you go northwest from Taunton. Over half of those teams are closer to us than Milford, so overall the leagues are mostly adjacent towns. (Keep in mind we're the easternmost school in the Hock, so yes there are towns that are nearby on the other side, but they group leagues based on how close most of the teams are to each other).

The two ways the State District could (doesn't mean they will) affect their schedule are filling in gaps in "regular season schedules" (if a team from their league is in the Red category and can't compete) and/or possibly providing a District postseason, since the teams are all localized. Again, it doesn't mean the State Districts will do this, just telling you what they could do. 

Will races look different?

Even the fall sports that have been approved have to make modifications according to the state's guidelines. While moderate risk sports (soccer, field hockey) have more modifications to make than lower risk sports like XC, we'll still likely have some changes being made. The most obvious issue for XC is the number of people on the starting line, so it's highly likely that some form of "staggered starts" is used in meets, with small groups of runners starting together rather than everyone all at once.

So as a responsible high schooler, what can I do between now and September 18th?

1) Wear a mask.

2) You still have 4 weeks of the extended summer training, so get those miles in!

3) Wear a mask!

4) WEAR A MASK!

5) WEAR A MASK!!!

If/when we get clearance from the league and local Board of Health, I'll certainly forward information regarding registration, etc.

Can we meet at the HS?

No. The "captain's practices" as some erroneously call them are not allowed. If you and a few of your friends are going for a run together, you would need to find a location other than the HS.

As always if you have any questions, you can e-mail me at mkelley@tauntonschools.org

I'll update with further information when we get it from the League/Local Board of Health.