Want to know if high school sports will be played this fall? Get in line.

The good news is some sort of answer may be coming Wednesday. The Rhode Island Interscholastic League is holding a virtual press conference at 3 p.m. to “provide an update on the status of RIIL sports.”

What the update could be is the question no one – including those involved in the decision-making process-has an answer to.

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There have been a variety of proposals rumored to be happening this fall, but nothing is for certain – or at least reportable — right now. The league is still finalizing whatever the announcement will be to ensure that the information they disseminate ends up being correct when they say it.

What seems all but certain is high school sports will not start on time. Anyone with a modicum of common sense could figure that out based on the fact that it’s the first week of August and no one — administrators, coaches or players — have any idea of when their season is going to start and if games will be played.

There’s also going to be a matter of which sports will be allowed to play but that has more to do with state regulations vs. what the RIIL has to say. Currently, only girls tennis and cross country are allowed in Phase 3 of the state’s COVID-19 regulations.

There is hope – especially in the youth sector – that soccer will soon be allowed, which would lead one to believe that field hockey would also follow suit. Volleyball is being played in neighboring states, so there’s a chance that could also be given the OK.

The one issue is football, a high contact sport where any semblance of social distancing usually sends a player to the bench for not doing their job.

What the RIIL doesn’t want to do is say “football is allowed” and then a day later have Gov. Gina Raimondo hold a press conference, laughing at the notion that football or any other close-contact sport would ever be played on her watch.

Whether people want to realize it, any RIIL decision comes at the mercy of the state. If the state decides there’s no sports, there’s no sports. If the state says school districts can make their own decisions, that’s what’s going to happen.

For the entirety of COVID-19, the RIIL has done an admirable job of trying to ensure sports are played and they’ve been prepared for a multitude of scenarios. The situation has been fluid from Day 1 so while the RIIL is kind of at the point of no return waiting this long to make a call on fall sports, it makes sense. If you make a choice in July that gets shot down by local and state government, you’ve really done nothing but waste time.

So what can you expect Wednesday?

Look to other states and see what they’ve done. Connecticut recently announced a delay to the fall season – including football – and it seems like that’s a good place to start. If the league can say “fall sports will start mid-September but that could be changed based on X” then it at least gives everyone involved an idea of what’s going on.

There should be a formal announcement on what sports will actually be played, again contingent on what the state will allow, and perhaps some dates on when we can expect potential championships.

As strange as it might sound, whatever was planned Tuesday night could all change Wednesday morning. We already saw that when the virtual press conference was scheduled for 1 p.m. before being changed to the current time. The league is playing this tight to the vest because they’ve got no other choice.

For now, just wait until 1 p.m. and be surprised with the rest of us.

erueb@providencejournal.com

(401) 277-7264

On Twitter: @EricRueb