The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association plans to announce guidelines for playing sports this fall by the end of the month, executive director Jeff Collins said Friday.

The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association plans to announce guidelines for playing sports this fall by the end of the month, executive director Jeff Collins said Friday.

“We’re still kind of in that developmental phase,” said Collins, a former Portsmouth High School principal. “The game plan is to hopefully have these guidelines finalized within the next week or so.”

Gov. Chris Sununu announced Tuesday that schools could choose to reopen for in-person instruction — but won’t be required to — with strict safety protocols. The NHIAA executive committee wants to give schools time to unpack and develop return-to-school strategies before making any formal announcements relative to fall sports.

“Everything’s on the table here,” Collins said. “If we need to move back the start dates, we’ll move back the start dates if school’s need more time.”

Time will also allow the committee to do due diligence on science and data relative to the global COVID-19 pandemic, specifically with an eye on surrounding states and other parts of the country.

During a Zoom meeting on Wednesday night, Pennsylvania’s high school sports governing body announced it will forge ahead with fall sports seasons, including football, with no imminent changes to practice dates or start times. Neighboring Ohio also hasn’t deviated from its fall schedule.

New York has already delayed the start of sports and canceled fall championships; the state released a condensed schedule for each sport that could begin with fall sports in January.

New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia have all delayed the start of fall sports. Rhode Island is currently slated to start the third week of August. Vermont’s sports won’t start until at least the first “student day” for each school. Maine’s status remains unclear and will likely depend on how the state views each county’s risk for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, NCAA conferences throughout the country — including the America East and Colonial Athletic Association — have either canceled or postponed fall sports schedules. The University of New Hampshire announced Friday that no Wildcat athletic teams will compete during the upcoming semester, with hopes fall sports seasons can be salvaged in the spring.

The state of New Hampshire has already rolled out guidelines for amateur sports, including football, and several summer leagues — like Little League, independent baseball and youth softball — have been operating and playing games for weeks. That, Collins said, bodes well for the return of high school sports.

Ultimately, the decision will hinge on what each SAU decides is best for their district. Some could choose to reopen in phases, utilizing remote learning. Some could opt out of specific sports, or decline fall sports all together.

Collins said the NHIAA will remain flexible, knowing what’s best for a Nashua could be much different for what’s best for a Berlin.

“Ultimately, we’re membership driven,” Collins said. “if we’ve learned anything from this global pandemic, it’s that flexibility is the most important thing.”