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PIAA moving forward with fall sports, alternate plans available if needed

Pennsylvania fall sports will move forward as scheduled, according to a release from the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Rather than a one size fits all plan, PIAA officials announced Tuesday that the league will “remain flexible in considering that certain sports may be impacted differently and post-season play may need to be modified.”

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There are three different starting plans that PIAA has given to districts for their consideration: regular, alternate and hybrid.

Regular and alternate starts would have a first practice date tentatively set for Aug. 17, while the first regular season contest would be spread out over the next month for each plan.

In regular starts, the first football game would Aug. 28. During an alternate start, football’s week one would be Sept. 18.

Here are two main points also specified in the release:

  • PIAA wants The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to make the final decision.
  • PIAA accepts the Sports Medicine Committee’s recommendation – if one player tests positive for COVID-19, the entire team is quarantined for 14 days.

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You can see the association’s full plan for Pa. fall sports below:

PIAA also provided a document containing considerations for parents, athletes, coaches, schools and leagues as fall sports get underway.

Here are some of the major guidelines listed in the document:

  • Social distancing of at least six feet when possible
  • Masks must be worn
  • No handshakes, fist bumps or high fives
  • No spectators
  • Athletes must conduct daily health assessment

You can read that full document here.

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