Posted Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2020

   After announcing the plan for the remaining football playoff games last week, the Michigan High School Athletic Association released the new dates to complete the postseason in the remaining fall sports of volleyball and girls swimming and diving in a press release on Tuesday, Dec. 29.

   Both championships will be completed on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021.

   Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced a pilot program on Friday, Dec. 18, that allowed the resumption of the remaining MHSAA fall playoffs in football, volleyball, and girls swimming and diving.

   Robert Gordon, MDHHS director, made the announcement at a press conference at the state capitol, that the remaining fall playoffs could resume, but with no spectators and players would have to undergo rapid testing for COVID-19. The antigen tests check for proteins that can indicate a person has the virus.

   On Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, the remaining volleyball teams in the playoffs will be allowed to practice after participants have complete one negative rapid test. Once the first test is administered, testing must continue at the rate of three times per week.

   The volleyball tournament is now set to begin again with quarterfinals at various sites on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. Semifinals and finals will be played Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 14-16, 2021, at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.

   In volleyball, only 32 teams remain and only 16 will be in competition after the quarterfinals are completed.

   The girls swimming and diving championships are planned to be completed with the three Lower Peninsula finals on Jan. 15-16, 2021 with one division at each of three locations. Diving would be completed Jan. 15, with swimming completed the following day. This is the same as the last timeline the MHSAA released a few weeks ago.

   In football, non-contact conditioning and drills (wearing helmets and shoulder pads with physical distancing) resumed again on Monday, Dec. 28, following all emergency orders from the MDHHS.

   Football teams will begin the first round of COVID-19 testing on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Schools will test players, coaches and other team personnel beginning that date, with full-contact practice then allowed after a first round of negative results. The testing program will utilize BinaxNOW antigen tests that produce results within 15 minutes.

   Football regional final games for 11-player teams and the semifinals for eight-player teams were originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2021, but moved to Jan. 9. 2021. The eight-player championship games in both divisions and all 11-player semifinals will now be played Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. The football season is now set to conclude with the 11-player championships in all divisions the weekend of Jan. 22-23, 2021, at sites to be determined. All semifinals in both 11- and eight-player will be played at home sites. But some schools are currently searching to see if indoor venues are available.

   Currently there are only 72 schools left in football competition — 64 in 11-player and eight in eight-player. After the next round there will be only 36 schools still playing.

   The MDHHS’s current epidemic order and extension– which paused activity beginning Nov. 18 – is set to expire Jan. 15, 2021. If restrictions on non-contact sports are lifted before then, then the remaining teams in the volleyball and girls swimming and diving playoffs could practice and compete at that time without the required rapid testing program.

   Gov. Whitmer said recently that the state will “seriously consider” lifting protocols sooner than Jan. 15, 2021, if recent progress is sustained.

   Michigan has seen dramatic reductions in COVID-19 cases since the pause was implemented. The seven-day average of COVID-19 cases in the state peaked at 7,270 on Nov. 21. It was 2,491 on Dec. 28.

   Under the pilot testing program, each athlete will be required to take three rapid-results COVID-19 tests a week on non-consecutive days while practicing and competing in their respective fall tournament.

   The test was described by the MDHHS as a non-invasive process with a swab of the nose and that swab is applied to a card where results of the test appear rapidly.

   Should a person test positive, that individual will need to connect with their own medical provider but will not necessarily be excluded from participation after direction from that provider.

   Each individual is required to sign a written consent to the testing program.

 

Winter sports update

   The representative council of the MHSAA approved an adjusted regular-season calendar for indoor winter sports on Dec. 23.

   All winter sports activity, with the exception of boys and girls skiing, has been paused by the MDHHS to decrease spread of COVID-19. If the MDHHS order is rescinded as expected on or before Jan. 15, 2021,. indoor practices may begin again Jan. 16, with first competitions Jan. 22 for basketball, bowling, boys hockey, and boys swimming and diving; and Jan. 25 for competitive cheer, gymnastics and wrestling.

   The council also approved one-year changes to competition limits in boys hockey and wrestling. In hockey, teams may play two games on one non-school day on two dates this season – with four games total during those two weeks when this opportunity is utilized. Wrestling teams are allowed two dates of competition per week this season, with competition limited to four teams at a site (and three matches per student per day of competition).

  The council also approved changes to the winter tournament schedule

 

 

 

pushing championships in most sports back to allow for regular seasons to be extended due to the late start. Following are the updated dates:

 

Boys basketball

Districts: March 9, 11 and 13

Regionals: March 17 and 19

Quarterfinals: March 23

Semifinals: March 25 (two sites)

Finals: March 27

 

Girls basketball

Districts: March 8, 10 and 12

Regionals: March 16 and 18

Quarterfinals: March 22

Semifinals: March 24 (two sites)

Finals: March 26

 

Boys and girls bowling

Regionals: March 19-20

Finals: March 26-27

 

Competitive cheer

Districts: March 5-6

Regionals: March 13

Finals: March 19-20

 

Gymnastics

Regionals: March 20

Finals: March 26-27

 

Boys hockey

Regionals: March 15-20

Finals: March 25-27

 

Boys swimming and diving (Lower Peninsula)

Regionals: March 18

Finals: March 26-27

 

Wrestling

District week: March 1

Regional week: March 8

Team finals: March 19-20

Individual finals: March 26-27

 

   Currently, the start dates of spring sports are not affected. If current orders further delay activity beyond Jan. 16, 2021, the MHSAA will devise updated plans that address both winter and spring sports. If current orders are amended to allow activity to begin earlier, the first days of practice and competition will be moved up accordingly.