The Florida High School Athletics Board voted Friday to postpone the guidance of its medical experts and begin practices for football and other fall sports on Aug. 24, with games less than two weeks later.
Doctors had advised that sports should not be started for at least six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before entering the field gate for football strength and fitness at Arlington Martin High School, athletic trainer Joey Pena, right, used a thermometer to monitor the temperature of sophomore running back Gervawn Neville on Thursday, June 18, 2020, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo / LM Otero)
As part of the Florida High School Athletic Association’s approval for the season, coaches will need to provide a “COVID waiver form” for schools, as well as take a COVID-19 training course through the National Federation of Colleges.
Football games and other competitive sports – including girls’ volleyball, cross country and swimming – could start as early as Sept. 4, but the state’s 67 countywide school districts and private schools have until September 18 to resume play if they decide to participate in the statewide playoffs.
If a district decides to delay, its teams will still be allowed to extend their regular seasons. Officials find themselves making such choices, even as the virus ravages Florida and spikes infections in parts of the country.
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On Friday, the death toll from Florida went up to 9,000.
The state health department confirmed nearly 6,200 additional cases at the end of the week, pushing the confirmed total to more than 563,300.
According to The Associated Press, Florida has averaged 175 reported coronavirus deaths per day in the past week.
Data from Johns Hopkins University show that Florida has the second highest number of cases in America behind California.
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Assessing the current situation, the Florida Medical Association’s Medical Advisory Committee has recommended that sports go until September 28 at the latest, provided that counties meet criteria that include having both a decline in daily reported cases. as a positivity figure below 5%.
To date, no counties meet these benchmarks. Nearly 800 schools are part of the association.
