Sac-Joaquin Section decides on sports under COVID. Here’s what it means for Merced County
The Sac-Joaquin Section Board of Managers voted on Tuesday to allow each of the 26 leagues in the section to decide their sports schedule for the rest of the school season.
The section also announced all sports can begin on Feb. 1, however, the section would still be following the the state’s COVID-19 guidelines.
As a result only sports that are permitted to be played in the purple tier of California’s color-coded “Blueprint for a Safer Economy would be allowed to start.
Merced County is currently in the purple tier, which is the state’s most restrictive designation for reopening under its COVID-19 plan, denoting “widespread risk” of viral transmission.
The Sac-Joaquin Section had scheduled to group sports into two seasons — with football, girls volleyball, boys and girls water polo and cross country grouped into Season 1 with a start date of Jan. 25.
The rest of the sports were lumped into Season 2 with start dates scheduled for February and March.
“What we’re trying to do is create flexibility for this unprecedented time,” said Sac-Joaquin Section Commissioner Mike Garrison. “We want to find a way to get kids participating.”
The section has turned the focus to trying to fit in a regular season by the end of the school year.
No playoffs
Garrison also announced there will be no section playoffs for any sports this spring.
The state’s COVID-19 travel restrictions for sports teams was going to make it tough to hold section playoffs. The restrictions prevented local schools from competing against those in other counties, unless the two competing schools share a physical county border.
Those same travel restrictions will still make it tough for some leagues like the Trans-Valley League, Southern League and Western Athletic League — that have many member schools from Merced County — to complete a league schedule.
The section is giving leagues the flexibility to align schools with different leagues if it makes sense to do so and both leagues sign off on it.
“We want to give as much flexibility to schools, districts and leagues to make work what is best for them,” Garrison said.
It will be up to the leagues to decide what sports can start when. Many leagues will be meeting in the next couple days to devise a plan on how to move forward.
“It leaves it up to leagues to form their own plan and how to address it,” said Scott Winton, Livingston athletic director.
“The overall philosophy of Merced County superintendents and athletic directors is to give all our kids the opportunity to play their sports, provided the start of the sport is in the right colored tier.”
Many Merced County schools had formed a plan to opt out of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and form their own Merced County athletic leagues if the CIF had planned on canceling any sports seasons.
This new plan from the Sac-Joaquin Section will allow Merced County schools to execute some form of their plan and still remain under the CIF umbrella.
It’s unclear if all the Merced County schools are on board with the Merced County plan.
“That was our intention all along,” said Alan Peterson, Merced Union High School District superintendent. “I’m glad the section made the decision to allow districts and schools to offer what they can when they can. To do so and stay under the CIF umbrella is what we wanted all along.”
Peterson said he doesn’t anticipate any leagues saying no to changes they may suggest that would keep Merced County schools in the same league.
“Everyone has to work it out,” Peterson said. “Staying in county for leagues is the least complicated version of an incredibly complicated year.”
Newsom’s stay-at-home order lifted
Now that the state’s stay-at-home order has been lifted, sports that are permitted to compete in the purple tier — which include cross county, golf, tennis and track & field — can begin in February.
Peterson said golf, tennis, swimming and cross county teams may begin team practices on Monday with the first meets possibly being scheduled for the week of Feb. 8.
Garrison said the section is advocating that all sports be allowed to play when counties reach the red tier — the state’s second most restrictive COVID-19 designation.
Football, volleyball, water polo and soccer can’t begin until counties reach the orange tier and basketball and wrestling are designated as yellow tier sports.
This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 3:17 PM.
