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Fall sports will forge ahead for private schools in Forsyth County, after the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association’s board of trustees confirmed a schedule Tuesday.
A prolonged season is scheduled to start in September — a delayed framework the association initially announced more than three weeks ago. Sports deemed “low risk” by the NCISAA, which include cross country, girls golf and girls tennis, can begin competition the week of Sept. 8. “Moderate risk” sports, such as field hockey, volleyball and boys soccer, are set to start the week of Sept. 14.
It’s a plan first released by the association Aug. 6. Competition, indoor and outdoor, will begin without fans.
Joe Rybak, the athletics director at Calvary Day, said he was in favor of the decision while North Carolina remains in Phase Two of its three-part reopening plan during the coronavirus pandemic that includes a limitations of gatherings of up to 25 people. Phase Two is scheduled to continue to Sept. 11.
“At the very start of this hearing no spectators I was like, ‘Wow, parents won’t be able to see their senior,” Rybak said. “And then I started thinking, ‘You know what? It would probably be good to start this way.’ There are probably going to be a lot of challenges that pop up and that we’re going to have to deal with.
“But I think it’s a good idea to start this way. And then if we move into Phase Three in North Carolina, and we feel like the cases are really dropping, I think the next step for the NCISAA would be parents only. You know, we feel like this is a good step.”
Among other developments, football, which no NCISAA schools field in Forsyth County, got a start date to commence practices the week of Sept. 8. Games kick off the week of Sept. 21. The association will continue developing “multiple” postseason options.
The NCISAA also approved an alternate season option, which allows schools to forgo playing any fall sport, including volleyball. Those teams would then play during a season from Feb. 22 to April 19.
That’s a question ahead for schools, according to Drew Glupker, the athletics director at Salem Baptist.
“That’s going to be interesting for a couple — one you have dual-sport athletes that might play in the fall that will have to choose between fall or spring,” Glupker said. “And also, again you go to more sports being pushed into spring, whether what that looks like for transportation because now you’re adding a team or two or three teams, depending on how many volleyball teams you have.
“And it just splits people up. So now, as a conference and we have to travel, in our situation now we’ve got to call everybody in our conference. And some people have already opted out of traveling to Winston because of the distance and their administration’s saying, ‘You need to stay within 20 miles.’ … It becomes much more difficult to schedule.”
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