Start of fall high school sports delayed to allow safety guidelines to be reviewed - Press Herald

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The Maine Principals’ Association has delayed the start of the fall sports season by one week as it works with state agencies to develop appropriate COVID-19 safety guidelines.

The announcement was made Wednesday afternoon in a joint press release from the MPA, the Maine School Boards Association, the Maine School Superintendents Association, and the Mills Administration after the parties met earlier in the day. It comes a day after state education and health officials urged the MPA to delay the season in a sharply worded letter that outlined how some of the association’s guidelines for fall sports fell short of the state’s safety guidelines.

Mike Burnham, the executive director of the MPA, said the first official practices will be pushed back to Monday, Sept. 14. They were to have started next Tuesday. Maine’s high school sports have been shut down since April 9 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Maine Principals’ Association agrees with the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education that it would be best to extend the delay of fall sports by one additional week to allow schools to get their academic programs underway as we further adjust our guidance,” Burnham said in the release.

“In the coming days, we will work closely and collaboratively with the Administration to modify our guidance and arrive at a solution that will honor the State’s safety protocols and protect the health and safety of student athletes along with their communities. We are grateful to the departments for their response to our request for feedback and look forward to working with them so that students may be able to play sports as quickly and as safely as possible.”

Previously, the MPA had delayed the start of official fall practices from Aug. 17 to Sept. 8.

Gov. Janet Mills also weighed in with a rare public comment on high school sports.

“I am a firm believer in the value of school sports which support the physical, social, and mental health of young people,” Mills said in the release. “I want to see fall sports come back this year in a way that protects the health of students on the field, in the locker room and in the classroom, while safeguarding members of the larger community.

“I am asking my Commissioners to work as a team with the MPA, the Maine School Boards Association and the Maine School Superintendents Association to address concerns about the guidance as quickly as possible with the most important goal in mind: protecting the health and safety of Maine students, their extended families, their teachers and fellow students and all members of our broader Maine community.”

Last week, the MPA approved all fall sports activities, pending a review by state officials, with modified rules. Fall sports include football, cross country, golf, field hockey, volleyball and soccer.

But on Tuesday, the state sent a letter to the MPA stating that not all of its safety guidelines met the state’s guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and requested that the MPA further revise its guidelines.

This story will be updated.

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