This week, the South Dakota High School Activities Association board of directors will meet to decide on the status of high school fall sports and activities. On Monday, the ‘task force’ proposal was released.
The ‘task force’ is recommending that all of the sanctioned sports and activities in the Mt. Rushmore State start on time. Last week, both North Dakota and Iowa announced their decision to proceed on schedule for the fall high school season as well.
One of the key questions regarding the fall sports season is, will fans be allowed to attend? Each school district will make their own decision on fan attendance, because situations may differ from community to community. Each district will choose one of four tiers to follow when it comes to who can attend and who can’t. The tiers range from allowing open attendance to allowing no fans – again depending on the situation in a specific community.
Another main aspect of this proposal is the possibility of a student-athlete of a school who tests positive. If a student-athlete were to test positive for COVID-19, they’d be required to self-isolate for 10-days. In order to return to action from the COVID-19 infection, a student-athlete must meet a specific set of guidelines as well, and they must be cleared by a certified physician. Anybody in close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19 must self-quarantine for two weeks as well, and schools will also be required to notify the South Dakota High School Activities Association of any verified cases of close contact.
If a school does go to online learning because of a significant spread at their school building, the SDHSAA will work with the school to reschedule a missed game. If a game can’t be made up, it will be listed as ‘no contest.’ If a school decides on their own to not play a game or contest, the game will go down as a forfeit.
There’s also a section about a seating chart for team bus rides. The idea is it’ll make it easier to track who may have been in close contact with an individual in the instance of a positive case.
The SDHSAA Board of Directors will meet on Wednesday at 11 am CT to vote. If approved, practices for certain sports will begin on Monday August 3rd.