Takedown Report

High School News – # 28

TDR Editor’s Notes ; The following articles are about the changes in seasons in some of the states. The answer in several locations has been to cancel the state sanction schools season while other states have postponed the start of wrestling until much later in the year. Other states have made modifications in the amount and types of competitions. Hopefully these changes will be for the best for the wrestlers. Of course it would be best for all, to have the pandemic infections to be cured as quickly as possible. We hope that wrestling will be able to recover and grow in the long run in spite of these horrible developments. A state by state summary is located and updated on the W.I.N. magazine website which is linked at (#10).
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1 } – Massachusetts becomes second New England state to cancel wrestling
Massachusetts became the second state in New England to cancel wrestling competition on Friday due to the COVID-19 pandemic when the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) issued new high school sports guidelines for athletic competition this winter. Wrestlers, with modifications, will be allowed to train but there will be no competitions between schools. Small groups of 10 or less will be allowed to train provided they stay apart from each other. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) already canceled winter state and sectional tournaments in all winter sports earlier in the week. Vermont cancelled high school wrestling for this winter in late October. Connecticut has prohibited any wrestling through January 1 after new rules from the state Department of Health were issued on Thursday. … rest of story at _{https://ctwrestling.com/2020/11/massachusetts-becomes-second-new-england-state-to-cancel-wrestling/3509/?mc_cid=5c187c6cfd&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

2 } – State Dept. of Health doesn’t recommend wrestling be allowed this winter
by Gerry deSimas, Jr. , Connecticut Wrestling Online Nov. 9, 2020
Connecticut’s Department of Health (DPH) issued new, updated guidance late Monday on sports activities for private, municipal, interscholastic, youth and adult sports leagues during the COVID-19 pandemic and doesn’t recommend that wrestling be held this winter. Wrestling is classified as a high-risk sport by the state and the DPH doesn’t recommend practices or any matches be held.
Indoor individual one-on-one training, aerobic conditioning and non-contact skill development drills could be allowed with modifications, perhaps masks. Wrestling and any other high-risk sports – notably football — was already cancelled through January 1 thanks to an executive order from Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont issued last Thursday. … rest of story at _{https://ctwrestling.com/2020/11/state-dept-of-health-doesnt-recommend-wrestling-be-allowed-this-winter/3523/?mc_cid=c33f4da146&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}
CIAC delays start of winter season, including wrestling, until mid-January
by Gerry deSimas, Jr. , Connecticut Wrestling Online November 17, 2020
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s (CIAC) Board of Control voted Tuesday to postpone the start of the scholastic winter sports season until Tuesday, January 19, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is the first date that practices could held. With sports requiring 10 days of practices, competition could possibly begin in the first week of February. Glenn Lungarini, executive director of the CIAC, all sports are currently scheduled to start, including wrestling, which is currently classified as a high-risk sport by the Connecticut Department of Health. A decision on wrestling would be made in January. … rest of story at _{https://ctwrestling.com/2020/11/ciac-delays-start-of-winter-sports-season-including-wrestling-until-mid-january/3545/?mc_cid=97ab69a0c8&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

3 } – Massachusetts, New Jersey move wrestling seasons to spring
Massachusetts and New Jersey have delayed the potential start for the 2021 high school wrestling season to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both states are moving the sport to the spring.
Connecticut has delayed the start of the winter sports season two months until January 19. Practices cannot begin until that date and games would begin around February 1. Since wrestling is considered a high risk sport by the Connecticut Department of Health, modifications would have to be made for the sport to played. On Friday, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA)’s Board of Directors approved delaying the start of the winter sports season to Dec. 14. The board voted to move wrestling to the spring season. The committee felt that wrestling has a better chance of competing if they hold meets outside. The spring season begins on April 26. Phil Napolitano, the MIAA’s Assistant Executive Director, told Southeast Coast Today.com, “A move to the spring will allow it to take place outdoors. Wrestling being indoors was the main reason it was denied.” Wrestling is also considered a high risk sport by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Wrestling meets not generally held outside. But a Colorado high school, Douglas County, has hosted some outdoor meets the past few years with the mat placed on the artificial turf of their football field. The first match was held in December 2017 and a second match was held in January 2019. … rest of story at _{https://ctwrestling.com/2020/11/massachusetts-new-jersey-move-wrestling-seasons-into-spring/3551/?mc_cid=d6bdb93622&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

4 } – Richmond Public Schools: No winter sports for high school, middle school athletes
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Citing the increase in COVID-19 cases in the area and with the goal of keeping players, coaches and spectators safe, Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras announced that there will be no winter sports at RPS schools this year.
The decision affects basketball, gymnastics, indoor track, swimming and diving, and wrestling.
“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 said in a statement. “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.” … rest of story at _{https://www.wric.com/sports/richmond-public-schools-no-winter-sports-for-high-school-middle-school-athletes/?mc_cid=c33f4da146&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

5 } – OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY PROHIBITS WRESTLING, AS PART OF FREEZE OF INDOOR SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES
The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) issued this tweet today:
UPDATE: The Governor’s Office and OHA has released new Statewide Freeze Guidance for K-12 School Sports. Starting today all indoor sports and activities (including weight training and conditioning) are prohibited.
The organization shared a document from the Oregon Health Authority entitled: Statewide Freeze Guidance – Outdoor K-12 School Sports, Limited Return to Play.
Click here for guidance from Oregon Health Authority
Key points from the document include
Applicability: This guidance applies to outdoor K-12 school sports practice, training and play for specified sports statewide. All indoor K-12 school sports are prohibited at this time. … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/November/18/Oregon-prohibits-wrestling-as-part-of-indoor-sports-freeze?mc_cid=d63f9879b6&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

6 } – Michigan High School Wrestling Attempts To Move Forward With Masks
To Open one needs to create a free account to see the full story. … rest of story at _{https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6824012-michigan-high-school-wrestling-attempts-to-move-forward-with-masks}

7 } – NJSIAA MOVES NEW JERSEY HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING SEASON BACK TO MARCH 1-APRIL 24
By NJSIAA | Nov. 20, 2020, 4:59 p.m. (ET)

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) has updated its high school sports plan for the 2020-21 season. Included are a number of things that affect wrestling, which we will post below. The wrestling season has been pushed back.
Below are edits from the document – “Return-to-Play – Season 2 and Season 3 Update”
Season 2, Season 2A and Season 3 Update:
Wrestling has been moved to Season 3, which was originally created to accommodate girls’ volleyball and gymnastics.
Practice Start: March 1
Competition Start: March 16
Competition End: April 24
Gymnastics, G Volleyball and Wrestling – Season 3
Prior to the issuance of Executive Order No. 187 on October 12, 2020, practice and competition for indoor medium and high-risk sports were prohibited. Therefore, in August 2020, the gymnastics and girls’ volleyball seasons were moved to a newly created Season 3. As wrestling is NJSIAA’s high-risk indoor winter sport, per the NJ DOH Guidance for Sports Activities, and based on feedback from health officials and member schools, NJSIAA will postpone wrestling to Season 3. … rest of story at _{https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2020/November/20/NJSIAA-pushes-NJ-high-school-season-to-March-through-late-April?mc_cid=46ecd7f19c&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

8 } – {Maryland} – Winter sports delayed; swimming and wrestling canceled
WORTON — With public health metrics moving in the wrong direction, the school system’s Return to Play Committee on Tuesday canceled the 2020-21 swimming and wrestling seasons and pushed back the start of the remaining winter sports until early January. On Wednesday, Superintendent Karen Couch announced that beginning Monday, Dec. 7, Kent County Public Schools would return to fully remote instruction for all students. Athletic Director Kevin Taylor said he believes Kent is the first county on the Eastern Shore to cancel a winter sport this year due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. “I think they’ll be others. They’re probably waiting to see what schools around them are doing,” Taylor said in a telephone interview Tuesday, Dec. 1.
Winter sports at KCHS were scheduled to start Dec. 7. A swim season would have been problematic because pool time at Washington College’s Casey Swim Center was to be limited to one hour a day and only several days a week, and there would have been no meets, Taylor said. Plus, the pool would not be available for KCHS use once college students return in January for the spring semester.
The cancellation of the wrestling season was not unexpected. The National Federation of State High School Associations has characterized the sport as one of “higher risk” related to transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. “Even though we knew there was a high probability we wouldn’t have a season, we still had hope,” KCHS wrestling coach Chris Yiannakis wrote Wednesday in an email to the Kent County News.
Loss of the season “stings,” he said. Yiannakis was heading into the third year as head coach at his alma mater and was well on his way to rebuilding a program that once ruled the region. The list of returnees included two state tournament qualifiers who each won more than 30 matches last season. “My heart goes out to our four seniors. They lose the most,” Yiannakis wrote in the email. … rest of story at _{https://www.cecildaily.com/apg/coverage/winter-sports-delayed-swimming-and-wrestling-canceled/article_5ac15100-a441-5bae-b948-a29ffd7c07dc.html?mc_cid=29548697b5&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

9} – Fluvanna wrestlers disappointed by school board’s decision to cancel season
PALMYRA – Shawn Metcalf was set to enter his senior season just a few wins shy of reaching the 100-win milestone during his high school wrestling career. Austin Moore hoped to pursue a berth in the VHSL Class 3 state wrestling championships after narrowly missing out last season.
Neither wrestler will have an opportunity to reach their individual and team milestones this winter after the Fluvanna County School Board recently voted to cancel the Flucos’ wrestling season because of concerns with COVID-19.
Virginia public schools are set to return to practice for winter sports in the next two weeks, but Virginia High School League executive director Dr. John W. “Billy” Haun has maintained that the decision to play would be made at the local school level for each program. So far, a handful of school divisions throughout the Commonwealth have opted out of winter sports, including Williamsburg-James City County, which announced its decision right before the Thanksgiving break, and Henrico County, which announced Monday that it would not participate in winter sports.
To date, Fluvanna County is the only school division in Central Virginia to cancel a sports season. … rest of story at _{https://dailyprogress.com/sports/fluvanna-wrestlers-disappointed-by-school-boards-decision-to-cancel-season/article_bf7ce190-334f-11eb-a5a9-c3dda0c4bc85.html?mc_cid=2514c7e76e&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b}

10 } – State-by-state listing of planned high school wrestling seasons in 2021
By Rob Sherrill
The foll0wing is an update to WIN’s state-by-state itinerary of when and if high school wrestling will be held in 2021, according to each state’s governing body. While some states are set to begin in December and complete a normal winter season, Vermont cancelled its wrestling season and the states of California, Illinois Massachusetts, North Carolina and New Mexico will begin later this spring and end in summer.
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Last updated Nov. 24, 2020
Alabama – regular season events limited to four teams; dual state tournament week of Jan. 22; individual state tournament Feb. 18-20. Read Return to Play for Winter Sports here.
Alaska – competition to start Nov. 13; state tournament Jan. 29-30. Read Out-of-State Travel Restrictions here.
Arizona – dual meets only, one match limit per day, out-of-state travel prohibited; regular season ends Jan. 30; boys sectionals Feb. 6, girls sectionals Feb. 13; state tournament not scheduled. Read Winter Sports Modifications here.
Arkansas – limited to 18 events; maximum per event eight teams or 114 individuals; dual meets encouraged; state tournament Feb. 18-20. Read COVID-19 Wrestling Guidelines here.
California – wrestling to move to summer season; wrestling state tournament June 11-12.
Colorado – practice starts Jan. 4, competition Jan. 7; seven dual meets and seven competition days; one-day state tournament Mar. 6.
Connecticut – start of winter sports season postponed to Jan. 19; approval to contest wrestling TBA; state health department has recommended canceling the 2020-21 season.
Delaware – approval to contest wrestling TBA.
Florida – competition starts Nov. 30; minimum match requirements for state tournament eligibility waived; dual state tournaments Jan. 22-23, … rest of story at _{https://www.win-magazine.com/2020/11/24/state-by-state-listing-of-planned-high-school-wrestling-seasons-in-2021/?mc_cid=1348aad4fc&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b#utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=state-by-state-listing-of-planned-high-school-wrestling-seasons-in-2021}

December 9, 2020 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment