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MECHANICSBURG – Today, the Governor’s Office and PA Department of Education (PDE) issued Preliminary School Sports’ Guidance for schools. This information will allow each school to resume voluntary sports’ related activities and to develop their own Athletics, Health and Safety Plan. This plan is to be approved by the school’s governing board and posted upon the school’s website. “Allowing voluntary activities to commence at PIAA member schools as early as the approval by the local board is a significant move to allow students to be students, said PIAA Executive Director, Dr. Robert A. Lombardi. “We are very appreciative and supportive of the Governor’s staff and PDE for allowing our input and having discussion of opening schools for voluntary workouts and activities”. The approval of the Athletics, Health and Safety Plan by the school governing body and posting of the plan to the schools’ website allows schools to begin out-of-season activities and replaces the July 1st stipulation previously adopted by the PIAA Board.

The guidance stipulates each school in Yellow and Green phase counties is to have a RTP plan in place to ensure that all sport teams and organizations conduct their operations in the manner best designed to prevent or mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the safety of the athletes and the communities they serve. Any sporting activities in Yellow or Green phased counties must adhere to the gathering limitations set forth by the Governor’s Plan for Phased Reopening (maximum of 25 people in the Yellow phase; no more than 250 people or 50 percent of the facility’s total occupancy, whichever is less, in the Green Phase.)

As has been recommended by the PIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC), schools should tailor re-start guidelines to fit a school’s local needs, as opposed to a reliance on a “one-size fits all” approach. If you’d like to review detailed guidelines on developing policies in these areas, please refer to the links below. All activities must still be in accordance with PIAA out-of-season rules and regulations. PIAA is urging everyone to “play by the rules” to keep students eligible, to promote optimal health conditions and to prevent any setbacks that may jeopardize the starting of fall sports.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/youth-sports.html

https://nfhs.org/media/3812287/2020-nfhs-guidance-for-opening-up-high-school-athletics-and-activities-nfhs-smac-may-15_2020-final.pdf

https://www.upmc.com/-/media/upmc/services/sports-medicine/documents/return-to-play/high-school-athlete-guidelines-pdf.pdf?la=en

https://www.governor.pa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/20200522-Department-of-Health-2020-Summer-Program-FAQ.pdf