PIAA doesn’t anticipate ‘pause’ becoming lengthy shutdown

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, December 11, 2020 | 1:25 PM

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PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said he doesn’t believe this “pause” of interscholastic sports will drag on for months like the shutdown last spring.

“I take them for their word that it’s a pause,” Lombardi said Friday, a day after Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration halted practices and contests statewide until Jan. 4 to slow the rising number of coronavirus cases.

“It appears to me a lot of it centers around our front-line people in the hospital and our first-responders,” Lombardi said. “They’re getting to the point where they may be overwhelmed. If we need to help them, we need to help them.”

The PIAA has encouraged its members to follow the governor’s latest covid-19 mitigation efforts in hopes that winter sports will resume in a few weeks. In March, teams faced a two-week shutdown that ultimately stretched well into the summer.

“I don’t see this that way,” Lombardi said. “I would take them for their word. Let’s see what the next few weeks bring. Hopefully, we can work through this.”

One key difference is Wolf didn’t order school buildings closed this time.

In the spring, schools were closed statewide March 13 and didn’t reopen for months. The classroom situations are different now, said Lombardi, who shared a recent conversation with state Rep. Mike Pfeifer, a Republican who represents a congressional district near Scranton.

“He thought some of the schools have done an outstanding job with their health and safety plans and their sanitation and their spacing and their social distancing and their mask wearing,” Lombardi said. “I think that’s all a lot different than it was in the spring.”

A number of schools moved forward with their season openers Friday night since Wolf’s order didn’t take effect until 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Lombardi said the PIAA would let individual districts make that decision.

“I get it,” he said. “Everybody’s trying to do their best.”

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 completed those 15 workouts before the shutdown will need four additional days of practice following the shutdown under a policy approved Wednesday by the PIAA board.

According to the new policy, PIAA teams whose workouts are shut down for more than seven days need two practices before resuming competition. That requirement increases to three practices for a shutdown longer than 10 days, and four practices for a shutdown longer than 14 days.

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

The PIAA issued a statement Friday urging members to follow the governor’s covid-19 orders. In part, the PIAA said: “Hopefully, this temporary suspension will assist in flattening the curve and reducing the number of cases statewide. We all collectively must be diligent in following mitigation efforts in order for a successful return to the season.”

The PIAA board plans to reconvene Jan. 6.

“We’re going to have to have lot of communication whether it’s telephone, conference calls or work session,” Lombardi said. “Right now, that’s the scheduled meeting, but that may change. Let’s see what next week brings.”

Wolf noted Thursday that the Pennsylvania Principals Association had asked the PIAA to delay the start of winter sports. Instead, the PIAA left the decision whether to play with individual school districts.

“In anticipation of hopefully returning to play in January, PIAA will continue to recognize and review suggestions from various education groups represented on the Board of Directors,” the PIAA said in its statement. “The Board has been proactive in the implementation of policies throughout the fall and winter sports’ seasons. At Wednesday’s meeting, the Board removed many eligibility restrictions and deadlines to allow for maximum flexibility and opportunities for schools to complete a winter season.”

Among its board actions Wednesday, the PIAA eliminated the regular-season deadline. Now, teams not actively involved in the PIAA postseason can play regular-season contests up until the date of the state championships, March 27. The PIAA gave teams the same option in the fall.

The PIAA will limit its team tournaments to champions only, reducing the number of state qualifiers. With smaller tournaments, the PIAA start date for its postseason competition will be later, giving districts additional time to complete the regular season and district playoffs.

“We were proactive,” Lombardi said. “And by making those moves, we feel the way this looks right now we have some wiggle room to adjust. The board did a tremendous job getting ahead of it.”

PIAA Press Release on the Suspension of Extracurricular Activities: https://t.co/4ySgT207bs pic.twitter.com/DdlbcqhS6q

— PIAA (@PIAASports) December 11, 2020

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.