WIAA adds second fall season

More anything? More everything! The great Jerry Seinfeld once uttered that famous line while flying first class and sitting next to a super model. Nearly three decades later, that mantra was still applicable to high school sports in Wisconsin. On Aug. 14, the WIAA Board of Control approved several details for fall sports to also be played in the spring for the 2020-21 calendar year only. Several schools from across the state canceled their original fall seasons due to fears of COVID-19. Sauk Prairie currently plans to have sports this fall. Wisconsin Heights remains up in the air on its plans for the fall. Heights is in Dane County where many of the state’s most stringent COVID-19 regulations are in effect. That means practicing could be difficult and having home games in most sports could prove nearly impossible. Sauk Prairie offers football, girls tennis, girls swimming and diving, girls volleyball, boys soccer, and boys and girls cross country as fall sports. Wisconsin Heights offers 8-man football, girls volleyball, girls swimming and diving, boys soccer and boys and girls cross country in the fall. Girls swimming and diving will be the first fall-to-winter/spring sport to begin and will run from Feb. 15 through the week of April 5. Girls golf will be the last fall-to-winter/spring sport to begin and will run from March 29 until the week of May 17. The Board reduced the number of weeks for winter and spring sports seasons to create a seven-week window for a second fall season. The Badger Conference, which Sauk Prairie is a part of, currently has some teams playing fall sports in the fall and others moving to spring.  The Capitol Conference has voted whether or not to play this fall. But the league is waiting for school boards in every conference town to approve the plan and won’t announce a decision until at least Aug. 26. Here’s what the WIAA’s new calendar will look like:   2020-21 Fall Sports Season Start & End Dates (* End dates to be determined) Girls golf — (Monday, Aug. 17 - Week of Oct. 12*) Girls tennis — (Monday, Aug. 17 - Week of Oct. 19*) Boys and girls cross country — (Monday, Aug. 17 - Week of Oct. 26*) Girls swimming and diving — (Monday, Aug. 17 - Week of Nov. 9*) Boys soccer — (Monday, Sept. 7 - Week of Nov. 2*) Boys and girls volleyball — (Monday, Sept. 7 - Week of Nov. 2*) Football — (Monday, Sept. 7 - Week of Nov. 16*) — Earliest first game is Wednesday, Sept. 23   2020-21 Winter Sports Season Start & End Dates Boys and girls hockey — (Monday, Nov. 16 - Week of Feb. 15*) Girls basketball — (Monday, Nov. 16 - Week of Feb. 22*) Gymnastics — (Monday, Nov. 16 - Week of Feb. 22*) Boys swimming and diving — (Monday, Nov. 23 - Week of Feb. 1*) Wrestling — (Monday, Nov. 23 - Week of Feb. 15*) Boys basketball — (Monday, Nov. 23 - Week of March 1*)   2020-21 Alternate Fall Sports Season Start & End Dates Girls swimming and diving — (Monday, Feb. 15 - Week of April 5*) Boys and girls volleyball — (Monday, Feb. 22 - Week of April 12*) Girls tennis — (Monday, March 8 - Week of April 26*) Football — (Monday, March 8 - Week of May 3*) - Earliest first game is March 24 Boys and girls cross country — (Monday, March 15 - Week of May 3*) Boys soccer — (Monday, March 22 - Week of May 10*) Girls golf — (Monday, March 29 - Week of May 17*)   2020-21 Spring Sports Season Start & End Dates Boys golf — (Monday, April 19 - Week of June 14*) Baseball — (Monday, April 19 - Week of June 28*) Softball — (Monday, April 19 - Week of June 28*) Boys and girls track and field — (Monday, April 19 - Week of June 28*) Boys tennis — (Monday, May 3 - Week of June 21*) Girls soccer — (Monday, April 26 - Week of June 28*)   Football programs unable to start or complete 50.0% of the fall season, including games and practices, are eligible for a prorated alternate season. Other fall sports unable to start or complete 50.0% of the fall season, including games and practices, are eligible for a complete alternate season. Fall sports programs exceeding 50.0% of their seasons will be considered a completed season. For planning and scheduling purposes, schools will be required to initially declare if they plan to participate in the traditional fall season or the alternate fall season in the spring by Sept. 1.  The revised sports calendar replaces the existing 2020-21 season calendars and identifies — in addition to an alternate fall season in the spring with seven weeks of competition — a period of no coaching contact prior to the start of the respective sport seasons; an acclimatization or practice period before the first allowed competition; and the designated number of weeks for the winter and spring seasons, including any culminating event.  The Board acknowledges all schedules are subject to change if conditions warrant in accordance with local, state and national health guidelines.  The Board also addressed a number of other rules and regulations to be modified or suspended in 2020-21 to provide flexibility to members and licensed officials during the pandemic. • If tournament series are conducted, regional groupings will be implemented (four teams in football). • All minimum number of contests requirement for tournament eligibility will be suspended in 2020-21. • All tournament series seeding will be conducted virtually in 2020-21. • All nonborder out-of-state competitions or practices are strongly discouraged. • All multiple-team events from outside a host’s region is strongly discouraged. • Co-op programs that include schools that are unable to participate in activities during 2020-21 may seek other co-op partners to provide opportunities for participation. • With conference approval, schools whose conference has canceled sports in 2020-21 may seek schedule relief with other conferences as an independent without sanctions or going through the prescribed conference realignment process. • For 2020-21, programs may schedule contests after they are eliminated from the WIAA tournament or culminating event respective sport’s revised season. • Schools that were unable to conduct their five unrestricted coaching contact days during the 2020 summer may schedule those days during the 2020-21 calendar provided there is one week of no contact prior to the start of the respective season. However, during the closed-session meeting, the Board directed staff to have discussions on coaching contact during 2020-21 placed on the agenda of the September meeting. • Licensed officials will not drop in classification in 2021-22 if they choose not to renew licensure or are unable to fill a varsity schedule in 2020-21.  The Board also determined student-athletes may compete in no more than two non-school events with school approval during each regular sports season in 2020-21 only, which adopts the middle-level regulation. An “event” will be defined as a game or tournament.