The Tigers, along with the entire Heart O’ North conference, are moving forward with the fall sports season, which includes conference only schedules for all sports.

MAPLE, Wis. – High schools in Wisconsin have until September 1st to decide if they will play this fall or move their seasons to the spring. One team that won’t be waiting until then is Northwestern.

The Tigers, along with the entire Heart O’ North conference, are moving forward with the fall sports season, which includes conference only schedules for all sports. Athletic director Brian Smith does acknowledge though that at least in the first few days, participation is not as high as it’s been in previous years.

“I think there are still some people who are anxious about some of these things and are kind of taking a wait-and-se approach, which I think we all are. We’re going to allow kids to join teams after we start in a week or two,” said Smith.

This week, practices for low-risk sports like girls golf and cross country have already started as teams across the country have a new found appreciation for high school athletics.

“Once things got taken away last spring, people were like ‘woah’. We just expect high school sports, or all sports, to go on. I think the mental health of our student-athletes, it’s important for them to get back out there or to get with their peers. Obviously we need to do it safely. Follow the hygiene, follow the social distancing, follow the masks so everybody is as safe as possible,” Smith said.

Smith added that the Tigers football team will open their season on the road on September 25th against Chetek-Weyerhaeuser.