WPIAL sets Sept. 1 deadline for schools to opt out of fall sports

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, August 24, 2020 | 9:21 PM

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The WPIAL believes a large majority of member schools will play sports this fall, but it’s hoping to know for sure in the next week.

School administrators will receive a survey Tuesday asking them to respond if they intend to opt out of any fall sport, WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said. The WPIAL wants an answer by Sept. 1.

“There are certainly some that are discussing it,” Scheuneman said, “but I haven’t heard a lot that will choose to cancel.”

The WPIAL board met Monday at the Chartiers Valley administration office.

If a large number of schools opt out, the WPIAL would need to make adjustments. For now, only Uniontown, Summit Academy and Neighborhood Academy have canceled all or some fall sports.

“I don’t think it’s going to happen, but if half of the schools decide not to play, then we do need to look at revising the schedules,” Scheuneman said.

The WPIAL remains optimistic but also is making plans should covid-19 cause problems. For example, any game canceled after a reported covid-19 case will count as “no contest” rather than a forfeit, the WPIAL board agreed Monday.

The policy applies to all sports.

Mt. Lebanon’s football team would’ve been among the first in the WPIAL to face that dilemma. The Blue Devils shut down workouts until next week, leaving them unable to play their opener Sept. 11 under PIAA rules that require 15 preseason practices.

“We don’t want to penalize a team for getting a forfeit when it may be no fault of their own,” Scheuneman said.

However, the “no contests” mean some teams will play more conference or section games than others, but the WPIAL will worry about playoff implications later. The WPIAL intends to hold playoffs this fall, Scheuneman said, but that shouldn’t be anybody’s worry now.

“We don’t have all the answers,” she said. “I don’t think anybody has all the answers right now. But that’s not going to be our focus. We don’t want people to focus on how to make the playoffs. We want them to focus on being safe.”

The current system for selecting playoff qualifiers could be altered for one year. The WPIAL sport-specific steering committees will meet in late September or early October to decide how qualifiers will be picked.

“You could have a section that has all eight teams still participating, where you have another that has three,” she said. “Do they view that the same way? They’ll have to evaluate what has happened over the course a month before they make decisions on how the playoffs are going to be determined.”

Scheuneman stressed the WPIAL doesn’t want the “no contests” used to avoid an opponent.

“We don’t want people to circumvent the rules or try to not play scheduled contests,” she said. “We want everybody to make the best effort to play as many as they can on that schedule.”

Along with the survey, the WPIAL also will soon provide schools with added guidance on how and when to notify opponents about covid-19 cases.

“Safety first, competition second,” Scheuneman said, “and then playoffs are going to be a potential bonus to those who can play.”

The WPIAL ruled North Allegheny transfer Kyrell Hutcherson ineligible for the basketball regular season and postseason after a hearing Monday. The 6-foot-2 junior transferred from Kiski Area, which contested the move as athletically motivated, Scheuneman said.

Hutcherson is eligible for football, NA athletic director Bob Bozzuto said.

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.