The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association decided Friday to move forward with high school sports. The vote was 25-5 in favor of allowing the fall season to proceed. The PIAA put out a press release on their website immediately following the decision.
The PIAA Board of Directors voted to permit fall sports to begin on Monday, August 24th, based on local school decisions. The Board agrees the decision to compete in athletics should be made locally allowing for each school entity to decide whether to proceed and which sports to sponsor.
As the health and safety of students is paramount in moving forward with athletics, the Board believes that through each member schools’ adherence to their developed school health and safety plans and the PIAA Return to Competition guidelines sports can continue.
“The PIAA Board of Directors has heard the thousands of voices of student-athletes, parents, coaches, officials as well as community leaders that have contacted us,” said the release
“We remind those individuals who have strongly advocated for athletics that they must keep strict adherence to school health and safety plans. All individuals involved in interscholastic athletic communities have a role in the health and wellness of all participants.”
PIAA Fall Sports Update: pic.twitter.com/RqD73jRTTG
— PIAA (@PIAASports) August 21, 2020
A number of districts and leagues have already called off the fall season. These schools cite the risk of spreading COVID-19 as too great. Other districts now say they plan to play.
The PIAA has prohibited spectators at sporting events, noting a statewide outdoor gathering limit of 250.
This article is comprised of media and information from a PIAA press release. For more sports, news and entertainment, follow us on Twitter @MWSNsports or like the MWSN page on Facebook.
