The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association COVID-19 Task Force released approved modifications for the Fall I sports season on Friday.

Sports that received modifications are cross country, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, soccer, swimming & diving and volleyball.

“There’s still a great deal of work to do, but the efforts made to date have been amazing and are why we are now able to provide our students with an opportunity to take part in activities that they love and miss dearly,” MIAA President Jeff Granatino said in a statement.

According to the release, the modifications were vetted through the MIAA Sports Medicine Committee (SMC), which includes two epidemiologists who worked with both the EEA and DESE, over a series of three virtual meetings.

Among the sports that will look the most different when players take the field is soccer. Games will be played in four quarters, rather than two halves. There will be a two-minute break between each quarter, with the standard 10 minute break for halftime.

On the field, players will be required to wear face masks/coverings per EEA guidelines and intentionally heading the ball will now be a violation. Players will also be penalized for placing their hands on any part of an opposing team member’s body, intentionally making body contact with an opposing team member’s body and attempting to slide tackle.

Field Hockey, like soccer, also has several modifications, most notably the transition to seven players on the field (goalie included) for each team. There will be no penalty corners, with fouls inside the circle resulting in 25 yard hits instead. All players must remain five yards away on free hits and face-offs will be taken out of the game and replaced by teams alternating possessions.

Modifications to volleyball include balls being replaced with a clean one after every rally and front row plays being restricted from traditionally attacking the ball while it is is above or in front of the 3-foot line.

Cross Country will change to virtual course previews prior to the day of the meet, with on-site course previews not allowed. The start of meets is required to be staggered, with waves of 8-10 runners in a minimum of three minute increments while maintaining the proper social distancing protocols.

For a full list of the approved modifications for each Fall I sport, head to the MIAA COVID-19 Task Force page.