Update on CIF Sports: Cross Country Starting, Football may Start Soon
Recently, the CIF and commissioner Rob Wigod announced a few updates in regards to sports resuming.
On February 19th, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced updated restrictions for contact sports. Outdoor contact sports, such as football and water polo, can be played in counties where the average case rate is below 14 cases per 100k starting February 26th. Currently, L.A. County is at 17.6 cases per 100k. In addition, athletes and coaches must be tested weekly. Prior to this change, football and water polo were allowed in the orange tier (3.9 cases per 100k). This is a drastic change for the new requirement. The schools are responsible for getting these tests, but the state is looking at ways to help get testing to schools, especially public schools.
On February 10th, the CIF retracted Bylaws 600-605. These Bylaws stated that due to cohorting and contact tracing, athletes cannot be on multiple teams, whether that is club sports or multiple high school teams. Football is an exception to this reaction, as athletes cannot play club football and high school concurrently.
In addition, cross country can start their meets. Cross country is the only purple tiered sport that was supposed to run from January to April. Football, girls volleyball and water polo were also supposed to run from January to April. Out of those sports, cross country is the only sport allowed to take place in the purple tier. Los Angeles County is still in the purple tier.
On February 17, the Marmonte League finalized plans for a cross country season. Calabasas, Agoura and Oaks Christian can only compete against each other, while Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and Westlake compete in separate meets. This is because Calabasas, Agoura and Oaks Christian are in Los Angeles County, while Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and Westlake are in Ventura County. According to Eliav Appelbaum, only immediate family can attend.
The first meet between Calabasas and Oaks Christian will be at Calabasas on February 24. Cross country is the only sport to resume so far, but more may follow as cases drop.
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