Florida High School Athletic Association Postpones Start of Fall Sports; Includes Swimming

An emergency meeting of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) was held Thursday night, with the organization’s Board of Directors deciding to postpone the start of fall sports to August 24 due to the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. The meeting was held three days after a Board of Directors meeting in which the original July 27 start date for fall sports was given the green light.

The Board of Directors will meet between August 10-17 to reassess the situation and make a decision on whether fall sports can begin on August 24.

In between Monday’s meeting and the meeting on Thursday night, most schools around the state indicated that they would not begin practice on July 27 because of concerns over COVID-19. During the Monday meeting, the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) recommended a delay to the start of the season, only to have that recommendation voted down unanimously.

When schools started to indicate they would not begin practice on July 27, the FHSAA decided it needed to reconvene and met via Zoom on Thursday night. Several hours of discussion, as was the case on Monday, took place, with some members of the board seeking to keep the original start date. Those in favor of retaining the July 27 start date cited the fact that some parts of the state are not dealing with rampant cases of COVID-19.

However, discussion also revolved around fairness across the state and the difficulty of allowing some schools to begin practice while others, such as those in South Florida where COVID-19 is rampant, would have to remain idle.

In Florida, swimming is a fall sport and the state typically produces some of the fastest times in the country. Already, Pine Crest School, an elite program and reigning 2A state champions for boys and girls, has announced that it is canceling its fall sports seasons.

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8 Comments

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Tina Anderson Murphy

3 years ago

Much better decision. Thank you.

Annette Morejon Gobel

3 years ago

Mike Jim McMullan

Anne-Marie Tucker

3 years ago

Thank goodness ?

Nick Lizalde

3 years ago

JT Tiernan

Kurt W

3 years ago

It was idiotic for the FHSAA to have moved swimming to being a fall sport. Having swimming state championship meets in late April, early May, as it used to be, gives kids an extra 6 months of training and competing, to improve their times, which is needed by many of those kids. A very simple solution to this is for the FHSAA, in their infinite wisdom, to move swimming back to being a spring sport. Problem solved. The FHSAA needs to show some guts, and do what’s right for the kids.

Jimmy Solano

3 years ago

Reply to Kurt W

Agree ??

HealthConcern

3 years ago

I don’t disagree with the health and wellness concerns BUT All you are doing is kicking the can down the road, nothing is going to change in 4 weeks…not to mention that all of these kids are going to be hanging out with each other irregardless away from the practice facilities and on weekends.

Dawn

3 years ago

I’m fine with this decision as long as they don’t cancel swim season all together. My son swims all year with a club, and in HS with the team. It’s his Senior year and Colleges are looking at him. This is important to his self esteem and academics.