The California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees all high school sports in the state, has announced a new athletic calendar that outlines the return of prep sports to San Diego County. The normal high school sports model of fall, winter and spring seasons will be combined into two seasons with the first one aiming to begin in December 2020.
“I’m really happy with how it came out,” said CIF San Diego Section Commissioner Joe Heinz. “This gives all sports the chance to play a full season, just on a different timeline than normal.”
Here is how the new two-season model divides sports for the 2020-21 year. Season 1 will start in December 2020 and feature football, volleyball, water polo, cross country, cheer and field hockey. Season 2 will start in March 2021 and feature basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, wrestling, golf, lacrosse, swim and track and field.
There are still some details for the section office to finalize, including where championships will be held with local colleges also having altered schedules to work with. Heinz said that he will be meeting with conference presidents, officials, CIF advisory committee members and more in the coming weeks to finalize a master calendar for all official San Diego section seasons and playoffs.
When asked about fans in attendance at the games, Heinz indicated the ultimate decision on fan attendance will rest with the individual school districts and sites.
While many see this news as a good sign, Heinz was even more optimistic.
“We will still need approval from the state health board for sports and group activities to return down the line, but I’m optimistic we will be getting good news well ahead of December,” added an excited Heinz.
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