Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced earlier this week that all fall sports, except for football and volleyball, may begin practice and start competing Sept. 21, according to a release from the governor’s office.
This ruling affects all public, Catholic and private high school athletics in New York State.
Low-risk and moderate-risk fall sports–soccer, swimming, tennis, field hockey and cross country–may start Sept. 21, and may compete in games in their region of the state. Teams will not be permitted to leave their region for practice or games until Oct. 19.
Higher-risk sports–football, ice hockey, volleyball, rugby and wresting–may begin practicing Sept. 21 but may not have competitive games until a later date or Dec. 31. These sports will be limited in practice to no- or low-contact training.
“The state has done a lot of research on how we can safely have our students participate in school sports and get the exercise they need, and the guidance we developed will allow lower-risk sports to begin practicing and playing next month,” said Gov. Cuomo in a press release. “We are approaching youth sports as we have approached everything else in our phased reopening – teams are not allowed to compete outside a school’s region or contiguous region for the time being until we can gauge the effects.”