The Virginia High School League, which oversees most of the state’s high school sports, says it has no immediate plans to change policies governing transgender athletes, despite Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s new guidelines that call for competition to be among those of the same biological sex.
Youngkin’s model policies state student-athletes be grouped as such, as opposed to by gender identity, with “reasonable modifications” granted only to the extent required by law.
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Last week, the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) board approved a contract to convert three district schools’ football fields from natural grass to artificial turf.
In November, Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced, “Every Metro Nashville Public High School (MNPS) athletic program will receive a new sports field, an initiative made possible through an innovative partnership with the Tennessee Titans and The Foundation for Athletics in Nashville Schools (FANS), Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to endow athletic programming at MNPS schools.”
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Governor Ralph Northam released an amended Executive Order 72 that allows outdoor sports to have up to 250 spectators or 30 percent of venue capacity, whichever is less, effective Monday. The February 17 amendment modifies language that previously allowed just two guests per player, up to 30 percent of venue capacity. Indoor sports are still limited to 25 persons per field.
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Thousands of Michiganders showed up at the Michigan Capitol Building Saturday to protest the state’s cancellation of winter sports, which was done in an effort to combat COVID-19.
“A massive turnout at the state capitol today for the ‘Let Them Play’ rally against the postponement of winter sports,” FOX 17’s Zach Harig reported.
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The Petersburg City School Board voted 6-1 in a virtual meeting last week to move forward with high school winter sports during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The school board’s decision allows for the return of high school boys and girls basketball, indoor track and field, wrestling as well as cheerleading, and came just a couple weeks after the body had originally voted on December 16 to cancel winter sports because of the virus.
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The Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) postponed its decision Tuesday on whether to cancel the divisions’ high school winter sports season this year because of current COVID-19 data of the area.
Last week, Virginia Beach Superintendent Aaron Spence wrote in a letter to families that if either the percent positivity or the 7-day daily average of cases – two indicators used in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s K-12 School Metrics – does not improve to the “yellow range” by Tuesday, the winter sports season would be cancelled.
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Athletic programs and sporting events will be starting back up in the spring sports season– baseball, football, track and additional sports – with strict COVID-19 guidelines in place. In mid-March, Governor Brian Kemp signed an executive order closing all schools for the 2019-2020 school year. The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) published a statement, made by Kemp, postponing the State Literary competitions, which includes extracurricular activities like speech, debate, and theatre. In addition to the suspension of in-person learning in schools, athletic programs, and other competitive events, Kemp’s order – originally set to end at the end of March 2020 – was extended through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Students’ prom, senior nights, and award ceremonies were cancelled as well. The GHSA published a statement on March 12 from comments, made by Executive Director of the GHSA Dr. Robin Hines about the final decisions to proceed with sports. Hines stated it was up to the local school systems but encouraged to follow guidelines made by the GHSA. By June of 2020, the GHSA released recommendations to open conditioning – which is exercise training to enhance physical performance – for member schools, with restrictions in place, stating, “There…
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The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is requiring participating schools to follow health recommendations from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) that strongly advise student-athletes to wear masks at all times while on the sidelines as well as during practices and games, the league said Thursday.
In a press release emailed to media outlets, VHSL Executive Director John “Billy” Haun announced the decision to adhere to the state health department.
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Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) announced earlier this week that the district will not be participating in any Virginia High School League winter sports during the 2020-21 academic year because of concerns over rising coronavirus cases in the area.
Andy Jenks, HCPS chief of communications and community engagement, shared the news in an online message to families Monday and noted that all out-of-season conditioning programs are also suspended for the time being.
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In a newsletter last Monday Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Superintendent Jason Kamras said the school system will not play high school or middle school winter sports this year.
“Athletics are important for many reasons: they motivate and inspire, improve student health, and can even lead to college scholarships. I am deeply sensitive to this,” Kamras wrote in his daily RPS direct newsletter. “At the same time, given our decision to go 100% virtual for the first semester, and given rapidly rising infection rates, we will unfortunately not be fielding any teams this winter.”
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After months of uncertainty in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Virginia high school sports will finally return in December.
On Thursday, Governor Ralph Northam cleared the way for high school sports to resume and for the Virginia High School League (VHSL) to proceed with its Championship +1 schedule when he signed the fourth amendment of Executive Order 67, adjusting statewide restrictions on recreational sports.
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Illinois high school student athletes and their parents who are tired of COVID-19 delays in sports are taking matters into their own hands — some are protesting, while others are moving out of state to play elsewhere.
Student athletes, coaches and students’ parents rallied in the dozens in McCook on Sunday to demand fall sports to resume, ABC 7 reported. Only golf, cross country, girls’ tennis and girls’ swimming and diving are playing for now.
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Over the weekend I had the pleasure of watching my 2 children compete in a cross-country meet. They were thrilled to be able to compete! It was an absolutely beautiful weekend! The place of attendance provided a tremendous amount of open, green space for spectators to easily socially distance. There were acres upon acres of a wide open, lush countryside; a magnificent landscape from which I could view my children as they participated. Thank you for allowing these students to have a season. However, I feel that our school, as well as many other schools, are over-reaching and over-extending a couple of the Health Order recommendations; to the extent I feel such strict requirements may not be in the best overall health interest for athletes.
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by McKinley Young Jr. Girls Thursday 1-10-19 Bailey Leads Antioch past Republic Aniyah Bailey scored 22 points to lead the Antioch Lady Bears over the Republic Lady Blazers 60-40. Destiny Johnson had 13 points and JiKiya Morris added 10 points for the Lady Bears. Other games: Cheatham County 60- Maplewood 35 Franklin 51 – Cane Ridge 39 Friday 1-11-19 Shaw Triple-Double Helps Lead East Pass Whites Creek WHITES CREEK, Tenn.-East Nashville Lady Eagle sophomore guard Tameia Shaw recorded her second triple-double of the season with 12 points, 14 assists, and 10 steals, as the number one ranked Lady Eagles (17-1, get a district road win 73-22. Junior London Fairs lead all scorers with 29 points hitting seven three-pointers. Quentarra Mitchell notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. NaKiya Armstrong led Whites Creek with six points. East Nashville (73): London Fairs 29, Quentarra Mitchell 14, Tameia Shaw 12, A’Niya Young 8, Kristina Smikes 4, Jaelynn Knox 3, Mariuana Hughes 2, Zayla Jones 1 Whites Creek (22): NiKiya Armstrong 6, T. Cockrill 4, D. Boatright 4, M. Shannon 4, A. Waller 2, M. Shelton 2 McGavock Outlast Overton in a Thriller Jada Johnson scored 14 points to lead McGavock…
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Veteran Nashville sports reporter Scott Wallace has been named Sports Editor of The Tennessee Star. Tennessee Star CEO and Editor-in-chief Michael Patrick Leahy praised Wallace for his credentials in sports journalism and his commitment to covering local high school and college athletes. “We are thrilled to announce that Scott Wallace has accepted our offer to serve as Sports Editor of The Tennessee Star. Since our launch almost two years ago in February 2016, we’ve been looking for the right person to fill this important position for us. Scott is the right man at the right time,” Leahy said. “Our team at The Tennessee Star has followed Scott’s career in local sports journalism for some time. We look forward to the in-depth coverage and inside details of the sports scene here in Tennessee Scott will be providing our readers,” he added. Wallace tweeted the news Tuesday, saying, “New year new opportunity Blessed & honored 2 b named sports editor for @TheTNStar Another way 2 get local athletes recognized nationally Here is a link to my 1st story https://tennesseestar.com/2018/12/22/atlanta-suburb-honors-hometown-hero-injured-tennessee-state-football-player-christion-abercrombie/ … Thanks @GillReport and @michaelpleahy for the opportunity #ItsOn.” New year new opportunity Blessed & honored 2 b named sports editor for @TheTNStar Another…
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