After sending out and receiving surveys from its member schools, the Arizona Interscholastic Association has figured out a schedule for the return of fall sports.
In a Wednesday, Aug. 5 release, the AIA announced a staggered start to the fall season. The statement did note that “the resumption of all athletics and activities are subject to change based upon changes to national, state or local guidelines, or government directives.”
Barring any changes, however, the relevant dates for Mingus Union and Camp Verde High Schools are as follows:
- Cross country can have its first official practice on Monday, Aug. 24. The first competition can be held Wednesday, Sept. 9. The state championshipmeet will be held on Thursday, Nov. 12 and Friday, Nov. 13.
- Swimming and diving can have its first official practice on Monday, Aug. 24. The first competition can be held on Monday, Sept. 14. The state championship meet will be held from Thursday, Nov. 5 through Saturday, Nov. 7.
- Fall soccer can have its first official practice on Monday, Aug. 31. The first competition can be held on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The championship tournament will be held from Wednesday, Nov. 4 through Saturday, Nov. 7.
- Volleyball can have its first official practice on Monday, Aug. 31. The first competition can be held on Monday, Sept. 21. The state championship tournament will be held from Thursday, Nov. 12 through Saturday, Nov. 21.
- Football can have its first practice on Monday, Sept. 7 and first games from Wednesday, Sept. 30 to Saturday, Oct. 3. The championships for the Open Division as well as Divisions 4A, 5A and 6A will be held on Friday, Dec. 11 and Saturday, Dec. 12. The championship dates for Divisions 1A, 2A and 3A are still being determined. The Marauders compete in Division 4A while the Cowboys are a Division 2A team on the gridiron.
In addition to football, both Mingus and Camp Verde participate in cross country and volleyball. The Marauders also take part in fall golf and swimming and diving, while the Cowboys partake in fall soccer.
“The health and safety of our student participants, coaches, officials and essential personnel, including volunteers, is the primary concern for the return of interscholastic athletics and activities,” AIA Executive Director David Hines said in the release. “We are very grateful to those who share our commitment of a return to these highly beneficial educational activities and athletics.”
Even assuming the planned start dates stand, there is one matter still pending — whether spectators will be allowed.
Seth Polansky, AIA sports information coordinator, noted that that’s being left up to the individual host schools, cities and counties.
“The allowance of spectators will be decisions at the local level,” Polansky said. “Some locales will be further along in their return phases, so we will defer to them, as they know what is best for their own situations.”
Another change will be the length of the seasons. Due to the later-than-normal start dates, the AIA agreed to move the start of the winter sports season back a week. Still, the limited time will cause the fall seasons to be shorter than they normally are. Region and conference committees will determine the minimum number of games a team will need to play to reach postseason, what the regular season maximums will be, region tournaments and the postseason qualifying procedures
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So, even under the current best-case scenarios, this season will be much different than any that came before, and possibly any that come after.
