Starting in 2022, California will become the first state in the U.S. to mandate later start times for public middle schools and high schools. By the start of the 2022-2023 year, middle schools will be required to start classes at 8 AM or later while high schools will be required to start at 8:30AM or later.
Early start times has always been a hot topic in swimming, as the sport has a uniquely-sadist view on early mornings (matched perhaps only by distance runners). In some parts of the country, pre-school practices require athletes to wake as early as 4AM. The problem is that, around the time that teenagers are starting middle school, they experience what’s called “sleep phase delay,” which changes their natural circadian rhythms. This makes it very difficult for teenagers to fall asleep before 11PM, and with the National Center on Sleep Disorders recommending 8-and-a-half to 10 hours of sleep per night for teenagers, this makes an early start time nearly impossible.
Multiple studies have shown that reduced sleep and early start times for schools reduces performance and physical health.
For its part, California is solving the issue for the majority of the student population, which now can at least sleep until 7:00 AM or 7:30 AM.
In some cases, for morning practices, this could be a blessing. A previous 5AM start time for a school that started at 7:00 AM, for example, could now become a 6AM start time for a school that started at 8:30 AM. That’s still not ideal, but it is a significant improvement.
On the flip-side, the later start time doesn’t produce more pools – which is a partial driver on the need for morning practices. Later start times could lead to a shift in the battle over morning practices, with programs that had previously lost on the debate over a 5AM or 5:30 AM start time now being able to make a better case for a 6AM or 6:30AM start time.
As an example of how this shift might change swimming programs, Tesoro High School, which was the highest-finishing public school at the 2019 CIF-Southern Section Division I girls’ swimming and diving championships, currently has a “Period 0” that starts at 6:40 AM, and a “Period 1” that starts at 7:52 AM. Period 0 is often a limited class or a co-curricular class like debate that is graded and where attendance is taken, but where enrollment is usually optional. For a student in a “Period 0,” a morning practice would (appear to be) essentially impossible, though a 5:45 AM practice seems within the realm of “make it work” plausibility.
While the new start time exempts “zero periods,” the mandatory later starting time would push zero periods to around 7:30 AM instead, and period 1 for those students without a zero period class to 8:30 AM. For those students without a zero period, a 90 minute 6:30 AM practice (or 2 hour 6:00 AM practice) will seem totally feasible.
There’s no good database of swim practice start times, and no readily-available information, so any shift in approach will be largely anecdotal – but it does give pause for thought as parents, coaches, and administrators weigh their new reality and how to adapt.
Below, listen to an episode of radio show The Takeaway on the subject of the new mandatory later start times. While not swimming specific, it touches on the challenges and opportunities of the new changes.
y
You can be a D-1 swimmer, on scholarship for a top 10 ranked team and never even sniff chlorine (or a morning workout) before stepping foot on a college campus. I have first hand knowledge of that. AM practice for HS kids should be banned…
I hear that Florida is moving up the early bird dinner special by one hour to give Masters swimmers an extra hour of sleep before morning practice.
The biggest issue here is the later release time. Meaning that afternoon practice start times are pushed back. And kids are getting home later in the evening meaning they are up later at night doing homework. So the cycle never ends. This is a waste of time and money.
That’s how we had it. I think ours was 815-230, bit same basic thing. Meant we had morning practice 3 times a week at 530, and afternoon practice was done each day by 530-6.
Some states do not allow varsity athletics to “count” for PE credit. I am glad that I did not go to HS in such a state. I would never have been able to succeed academically and swim without the “extra” study hall. That extra hour to study made an enormous difference.
For working parents this is just one more thing to have to figure out. My kids might not have to start school until 8:30, but my work day starts at 8.
We had 7:30 to 3 ehh
My high school has actually been starting at 8:30 for a couple years now, and I must say I was skeptical at first. I didn’t think it was a good idea and that it wouldn’t make a difference to anything. I was perfectly fine waking up earlier for school too. After two years starting at 8:30 I can say that for me personally, I love the later start time. It allows for more time after morning practices and it has me more awake for first period. (๑>◡<๑)