Tag: CIF

New guidelines will allow high school football in California

High school football in California will be played this winter and spring.

After months of uncertainty, high school football in California will be played this winter and spring.

The California Department of Public Health released its youth sports update Friday following discussions with the CIF and local coaches as COVID-19 cases around the state decline. According to the Los Angeles Times, the new guidelines pave the way for high school football and water polo teams to begin practicing on Feb. 26.

High-contact sports such as football, rugby and water polo with participants over the age of 13 can be played in counties with an adjusted daily case rate of 14 or fewer per 100,000 population. Regular weekly testing for coaches and student-athletes is required. Los Angeles County currently has a case rate of 17.6 per 100,000, making its programs ineligible to compete until that number goes down.

Per the Los Angeles Times, either antigen or PCR testing will be required for participants in athletic competitions. The state is planning on working with schools to ensure testing is completed, connecting them with testing sites in their respective communities.

“I think it’s very much a positive way forward,” said Ron Nocetti, executive director of the CIF.

High school sports in California came to a halt last March amid the COVID-19 pandemic and competitive sports remained out of action for months despite other states holding competition due to state guidelines. The CIF voted in July to delay the 2020-21 fall sports season until December, but that was pushed back further as COVID-19 cases in California spiked.

California delays HS sports until December or January

A major announcement on the status of high school sports for the upcoming academic year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the high school sports seasons in California. The CIF announced on July 20 it will be delaying the start of HS athletics until December or January.

The statement:

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has determined, in collaboration with our 10 Sections, that education-based athletics for the 2020-2021 school year will begin with a modified season of sport schedule (see below for 2020-21 sports calendar). Our calendar reflects the season for each CIF sport and the last date for Section Championships and Regional/State Championships in those sports where a Regional/State Championship is currently offered. Following this announcement, each CIF Section Office will release their own calendar to reflect regular season starting and ending dates and Section playoffs. It is anticipated that most Section start dates will commence in December 2020 or January 2021.

We are continuously monitoring the directives and guidelines released from the Governor’s Office, the California Department of Education, the California Department of Public Health, and local county health departments and agencies as these directives and guidelines are followed by our member schools/school districts with student health and safety at the forefront. As these guidelines change, CIF Sections may allow for athletic activity to potentially resume under the summer period rules of the local Section. Also, given this calendar change, the CIF has temporarily suspended Bylaws 600-605 (Outside Competition) in all sports for the 2020-21 school year (see below for more specific information related to these changes).

One area that will be fascinating to watch is prep football. In recent years, many top players have been graduating early and starting college life in the spring semester. If this trend is to continue, some student-athletes would not play their senior season. Or, they could wind up staying in high school and not heading to college early to participate in spring football and other elements of training. The HS football playoffs are targeted to end April 17, 2021.

Something to definitely keep an eye on in the upcoming months.

San Clemente kicked out of Calif. Southern Section playoffs for fielding ineligible player

San Clemente has been kicked out of the CIF-SS regional playoffs for allegedly fielding an ineligible player, though the Tritons are appealing the ruling.

Southern California high school San Clemente has been booted from the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section playoffs after they were found to have played their first round game with an ineligible player.

As reported by the Los Angeles Daily News, San Clemente was found to have violated the so-called “undue influence” rules by contacting a player on the current roster before he had enrolled at the school. While the undisclosed player has the right to appeal the ruling, given his current status, San Clemente’s forthcoming game in the CIF-SS Div. 2 semifinals has been declared a forfeit, with Chaminade instead advancing to the regional finals by default.

According to a statement by the Capistrano Unified School District, San Clemente self-reported the alleged violation and didn’t know of any possible transgression until it was notified of the potential violation by CIF itself.

Here’s the full statement from Capistrano Unified School District chief communications officer Ryan Burris:

“Last week, information was provided to San Clemente High School Administration alleging possible CIF violations regarding athletic transfers to SCHS. After a preliminary investigation by SCHS, it was discovered that there was one potential violation. The SCHS Administration was not aware of any violation prior to this investigation.

“SCHS self-reported the potential violation to the CIF-Southern Section office on Friday, November 15th as required. This morning the CIF-SS rendered a decision that SCHS played an ineligible player based on pre-enrollment contact. As a result, SCHS must forfeit all varsity football games from the current 2019 season and will not be able to continue in the playoffs as of today.

“We are deeply saddened by the decision and feel terrible for our current players who have worked so hard to achieve so much on the field. San Clemente High School holds itself to the highest standards and will continually follow all policies and procedures to pursue victory with honor.”

Technically, San Clemente will be forced to forfeit all its games pending its appeal. A decision on the appeal will have to come before Friday for San Clemente to regain its position in the regional semifinals.

Calif. high school football coach resigns after fight between teams

A massive brawl between players for Delano and Mission Oaks High School led to drastic measures from the California Interscholastic Federation, including a season-long probation for Delano and the resignation of the Delano head coach.

A California high school football coach has resigned in the aftermath of an ugly fight between players for his team and an opponent.

As reported by Bakersfield ABC affiliate KERO, the head football coach at Delano (Calif.) High School resigned following a fight that unfolded between players from Delano and Mission Oak High School (Tulare, Calif.). While players from both teams were involved in the skirmish, Delano acted proactively to ward off more pernicious penalties from the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) with the extend of the damage today — the entire Delano football team,  including coaches, will be on probation throughout the 2020 season.

That probation won’t cost Delano anything in 2019, but it will cost them playoff eligibility in 2020.

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Additionally, it’s not immediately known if the entire football team was suspended from school in connection with the incident, though the Delano Police Department announced in a public release that it would be filing charges against players for both teams.

“After reviewing the many videos and conducting numerous interviews, the Delano Police Department will be filing the case with the Kern County District Attorney’s Office for review and requesting formal charges on players from both teams. We would like to thank the staff from both school districts for their cooperation in the handling of this sensitive matter.”

There has been no indication as of yet that Delano was forced out. Rather, given what is currently known, it appears his decision to resign was a unilateral one taken after the incident and while a police investigation was ongoing.

“We believe that the we took the appropriate action following the incident,” Delano principal Rene Ayon told KERO. “Although it is disappointing that we will not be included in the CIF playoffs, we still support the CIF’s decision.”