COLUMBUS, Ohio – Athletic superintendents, principals, and administrators are in favor of starting all high school athletic programs as currently planned and scheduled for this fall, according to respondents to a survey by the Ohio High School Athletic Association which was released on Wednesday afternoon.
Member high schools received six questions Monday regarding the fall sports season during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results were released to member schools on Wednesday afternoon, a day after OHSAA announced that contact sports had been suspended.
The official start of fall sports practice is Saturday. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday to update the state’s COVID-19 data.
Three of OHSAA’s fall sports have already been declared by the DeWine office as low contact, including boys ‘and girls’ golf, girls ‘tennis, and girls’ volleyball. Those sports may have interschool competitions.
Cross country, field hockey, soccer, and football have not yet been approved by the governor to have regular interschool competitions without the COVID-19 test.
Of the OHSAA member high schools that participated in the survey, 1,330 respondents said they had no positive COVID-19 cases from students or adults as a result of voluntary sports participation activities on campus this summer.
There were 169 respondents who said that there had been a positive case as a result of those activities.
Of the member schools that participated in the survey, 611 people favored starting the fall season on time. That included 312 athletic administrators, 206 principals, 63 superintendents, and 30 respondents with a school title that was not recorded in the survey conducted through an OHSAA account.
The second highest total vote was 477 respondents who are in favor of delaying the start of all fall sports programs as appropriate and then starting when / if conditions change.
There were 265 respondents who said OHSAA should follow a plan that moves low / contactless spring sports to fall and fall contact sports to spring.
There were 166 respondents who were in favor of canceling all sports programs as currently planned.
A second question addressed low-contact sports and asked for an opinion on their status.
The survey results showed that 664 votes, including 345 athletic administrators, are in favor of starting low / contactless sports (golf, tennis, volleyball) as currently planned.
The second highest result in that category (255 votes) was in favor of a delay in low / contactless sports.
The survey results also showed that the majority of respondents are in favor of competition starting in contact sports (field hockey, soccer and football), but that a minimum of scrimmage should be allowed in those sports.
If there is any kind of delay at the start of the fall sports season, 594 respondents favor a two-week delay until August 17. The second highest total vote (475 votes) was a delay until August 31.
If the fall seasons work but are shortened, 614 respondents said they preferred to cut back on the regular season and keep the OHSAA tournaments complete. The second highest total vote (325 votes) favors the reduction of the regular season and the tournament.
OHSAA has 815 member high schools and 760 seventh through eighth grade schools in the association for this upcoming 2020-21 school year.
OHSAA represents more than 350,000 students competing in 26 sanctioned sports: 13 for boys and 13 for girls.
Ohio is the fourth largest state in sports participation in high school behind California, Texas and New York.
.
