Colorado will move several fall high school sports, including football, to the spring, creating a fourth sports season and condensing all four seasons amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) has effectively expanded the usual three high school sports seasons (fall, winter, and spring) into four seasons, with a notable two-and-a-half-month break from all sports in the winter. That “participation moratorium” was put into place because the high school activities association says data suggests a “likely resurgence of COVID-19 cases in late fall.”
Typically, girls swimming & diving takes place in the winter in Colorado, with boys swimming & diving falling in the spring season. Those sports will remain in their traditional seasons, though the start and end dates have been altered in the new four-season plan:
- Season A (August 3 – October 17, 2020)
- boys golf, softball, boys tennis, cross country (traditional fall sports)
- No-Participation Moratorium (October 18, 2020 – January 3, 2021)
- Season B (January 4 – March 6, 2021)
- basketball, ice hockey, skiing, spirit, wrestling, girls swimming (traditional winter sports)
- Season C (March 1 – May 1, 2021)
- field hockey, football, gymnastics, boys soccer, bowling, girls volleyball (traditional fall sports)
- Season D (April 26 – June 26, 2021)
- baseball, girls golf, lacrosse, girls soccer, girls tennis, track & field, boys volleyball, boys swimming (traditional spring sports)
Last year, the girls high school swimming season in Colorado ran from November 18 to February 19 – about 14 weeks. The new season is condensed to just 9 weeks.
Boys swimming was scheduled to run about 12 weeks from March 2 through May 23, though the season was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic. That season has also been condensed to 9 weeks for the 2020-2021 school year.
The late dates for the boys swimming season could create a conflict for the state’s top swimmers, with U.S. Olympic Trials taking place from June 13-20.
You can follow all 50 states and their most updated plans in our state-by-state index here.
“participation moratorium” was put into place because the high school activities association says data suggests a “likely resurgence of COVID-19 cases in late fall.”
So Colorado must have a crystal ball that shows “October-January” is a no go for playing sports………………………………………………………………..Here’s your sign.
Feel badly for the kids who are hoping to participate in the Omaha Cup or Olympic Trials in June, but glad to see they are being pro active and trying to find a solution.