In an email sent to Colorado High School Activities Association member schools earlier this week, Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green informed the membership that on June 1 the moratorium against in-person condition sessions between coaches and high school participants will be lifted.
Starting on that day, any decisions regarding athletics and activities through the summer months will be made at the local school district level. The CHSAA’s administrative oversight for athletics and activities will resume when camps, clinics and fall sports practice dates are projected to begin, she noted.
“This isn’t recreational park play or a free-for-all,” CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green told CHSAANow.com this morning. “Our schools will face some challenges, no different than professional and collegiate sports to resume any level of student participation.”
“Each district’s individual date of return has been fully supported by our office,” Blanford-Green continued. “Our school administrators have assessed their local situations and have made the best decisions based on the safety and well-being of their students and school personnel.”
In Tuesday’s email to schools, the Commissioner provided schools with suggested recommendations, referencing national, state and health guidelines to assist them with resuming activities and athletics while keeping safety standards and protocols a priority.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel,” Blanford-Green said. “As with [the] reopening our country and our state, taking incremental steps within the mandated and suggested guidelines will be critical in ensuring the success of transitioning from virtual to in-person.
“I have strongly recommended that each school or district have a comprehensive plan in place during this transition, and that their school communities including participants, parents and especially coaches are informed of the expectations prior to physical contact or conducting in-person sessions,” she added.
“Our students, coaches, schools and the Association are ready to re-socialize back to participation,” Blanford-Green said. “The importance of returning to education-based athletics and activities reaches beyond a contest or a perceived scholarship. It is about reconnecting our students — socially, emotionally and physically.”
The CHSAA Resocialization Task Force will meet after June 1 to begin discussions on athletics and activities for high school participation for the 2020-21 school year.
