Gov. Wolf shuts down interscholastic, recreational sports until Jan. 4

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, December 10, 2020 | 4:57 PM

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With covid-19 cases increasing statewide, Gov. Tom Wolf “paused” interscholastic and recreational sports Thursday, one day before high school teams were scheduled to start their winter schedules.

Once the order takes effect Saturday, teams cannot practice or compete until Jan. 4. College and professional sports were allowed to continue.

“The surge in cases among school-age children increases the risk that asymptomatic participants will spread the virus at a game or practice, in the locker room, while traveling to and from events, or at team meals, parties or other gatherings,” Wolf’s administration said in a statement announcing the shutdown.

The governor noted that the Pennsylvania Principals Association asked the PIAA to delay the start of winter sports. Yet, the PIAA board met Wednesday and chose to let individual schools make that decision instead, while acknowledging then that a Wolf-mandated shutdown was rumored to be coming.

“We can’t say it’s unexpected,” WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said.

For athletes and coaches, this “pause” brings back unwelcome memories from March when a temporary shutdown eventually extended into the summer. Scheuneman said it’s probably too soon to question that happening now.

“I don’t think anyone can answer that until we see the next couple of weeks,” she said. “We need to see if their efforts (to reduce virus spread) are successful.”

Wolf’s announcement said: “All sports at K-12 public schools, nonpublic schools, private schools and club, travel, recreational, intermural, and intramural sports are paused.”

After the PIAA board met online Wednesday, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi questioned the logic behind delaying sports for a few weeks.

“We have not seen any data to say why Jan. 1 would be better than Dec. 11, or why Jan. 15 is better than Feb. 1,” Lombardi said. “What we heard from the CDC and everybody is that after the new year, you’re getting into the middle of flu season.”

In an email Thursday, Lombardi said the PIAA would issue a statement Friday morning.

The governor’s order doesn’t take effect until 12:01 a.m. Saturday, leaving some schools with a decision to make. Scheuneman fielded questions from administrators wanting to know whether they may play Friday.

“Yes, you can,” she said.

The season opener for the majority of WPIAL winter sports athletes now won’t come until January. Teams can resume practice Jan. 4, but PIAA rules won’t let them compete immediately.

First, teams must complete 15 preseason practices before their first games. Teams that already have completed those workouts will need four additional days of practice following the shutdown under a policy approved Wednesday by the PIAA board.

So, the earliest a team can compete after the shutdown is Jan. 8.

Scheuneman said the WPIAL “encourages students to stay engaged virtually with coaches and do as much as they can to exercise and stay in shape, just to keep themselves prepared for whenever an opportunity comes to participate again.”

The WPIAL board met online an hour before Wolf’s announcement. At this time, Scheuneman said, the WPIAL does not intent to revamp regular-season schedules but might opt for a larger basketball tournament this winter.

If there’s a postseason, the WPIAL may need a way to identify playoff qualifiers from unbalanced standings. Many teams were scheduled to start section play before Christmas.

When the WPIAL faced unbalance standings in the fall, the football committee was tasked with choosing qualifiers. Scheuneman said the WPIAL “will leave all options open,” including the possibility of an open basketball tournament that would invite all teams.

“With six classifications, you don’t have as many schools all in one classification,” she said. “The most we have in any one given basketball classification is 27. It adds one day if you were to have everybody in.”

The WPIAL board asked Scheuneman to meet with each sport’s steering committee to seek postseason recommendations. Those reports are due Dec. 21. But with so much uncertainty, Scheuneman stressed the playoffs shouldn’t be anyone’s focus.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.