The Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) announced Tuesday that it is pushing back the start of the 2020 high school fall sports season for the state's two largest groups of schools.
The modified plan provides a delay for schools in highly-populated metro areas, primarily conferences 5A-6A, given the challenges with COVID-19 those communities are facing, while providing schools in other areas, primarily 1A-4A, an opportunity to start seasons on schedule.
5A and 6A conference shools will not begin fall practice until September 7th. For high school football, that means the first games will be the week of September 24. Volleyball will begin practice on September 7th and have the first games starting September 14th. Tennis and Cross Country will be start on September 7th.
Texas high schools ranked 1A to 4A will have football practices beginning on August 3 and games beginning on August 27. Volleyball games will start on August 10th, and Tennis and Cross Country will begin on August 17th.
Modified UIL Activities Calendar & COVID-19 Guidelines for 2020-2021 School YearPress Release ⬇️https://t.co/sv3boFOD43Full COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Guidelines ⬇️https://t.co/o3qFFIZxrFMore COVID-19 Information ⬇️https://t.co/lE7fRyRbWY pic.twitter.com/vuWybpYVQ8
— Texas UIL (@uiltexas) July 21, 2020With the understanding that not all schools will be able to start at the same time, this plan allows for schools to make playing decisions at the local level, and the UIL will work directly with schools that have scheduling issues not addressed in this plan to allow them flexibility to complete as many contests as possible, said a release from the UIL.
"Our goal in releasing this plan is to provide a path forward for Texas students and schools," said UIL Executive Director Dr. Charles Breithaupt. "While understanding situations change and there will likely be interruptions that will require flexibility and patience, we are hopeful this plan allows students to participate in the education-based activities they love in a way that prioritizes safety and mitigates risk of COVID-19 spread."
ONLINE: Modified UIL Activities Calendar
