3 More Winter Sports to Restart in Full
January 13, 2021
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three more MHSAA non-contact Winter sports will be allowed to restart practice Saturday (Jan. 16) per the updated epidemic order announced today by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), while four Winter contact sports may begin indoor practices Saturday with non-contact activities.
Girls gymnastics, girls and boys bowling, and girls and boys swimming & diving, as “non-contact” sports, may also begin competition before the end of this month – swimming & diving Jan. 22 and gymnastics and bowling Jan. 25. Masks will be required of all participants except when they are actively participating in gymnastics and swimming & diving. Spectators will be capped at 100 persons in school gyms or 250 in stadiums and arenas, per MDHHS orders.
Basketball, competitive cheer, ice hockey and wrestling are considered “contact” sports and may begin non-contact practices Jan. 16, with their first competitions scheduled for Feb. 1. Because of the later start to competition schedules in those sports, the MHSAA will adjust its tournament dates for those four to conclude on later dates than what is currently scheduled – those dates will be announced later this week.
Girls and boys skiing, as an outdoor non-contact sport, was allowed to begin in December.
“We are glad to have three more sports join skiing in returning to full activity, but we understand the disappointment and frustration on the part of our athletes and coaches whose sports are not yet able to restart completely,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “We will continue to adjust schedules to provide all of our winter teams as substantial an experience this season as possible, as part of our greater plan this school year to play all three seasons to conclusion.
“We have shown with our remaining Fall sports this month that our schools can participate safely, and we’re confident teams will continue to take all the appropriate precautions as we jump back into indoor Winter activities.”
Additionally, spring sports teams and fall teams not participating in the MDHHS rapid testing pilot program may begin four-player workouts and resume conditioning Jan. 16, but only with non-contact activities. Fall teams finishing their seasons in girls volleyball, Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving and football have been able to do so by taking part in the MDHHS rapid testing pilot program for COVID-19; volleyball and swimming & diving will conclude with Finals this weekend, while football will finish Jan. 22-23 with 11-Player Finals.
Update: Attendance, Broadcast Information
March 12, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Postseason events sponsored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association and scheduled for March 12-14 will be conducted as scheduled. However, attendance will be restricted at all events through this weekend, with updates to be announced Monday, March 16, for the remainder of the girls and boys basketball tournaments.
The MHSAA Ice Hockey Semifinals and Finals will be played March 12-14 at USA Hockey Arena, with Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals beginning Friday, March 13 and concluding March 14 at Oakland University and Holland Aquatic Center. Girls Gymnastics at Rockford High School also will be competed Friday and Saturday this weekend. Girls Basketball Regionals Finals are scheduled for tonight, March 12, across the state, as are Boys District Finals on Friday, March 13.
Based on recommendations from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer suggesting attendance limitations, no spectators will be allowed for the three Swimming & Diving Finals, both days, or Saturday’s Girls Gymnastics Individual Finals. These events have the highest number of participants of this weekend’s events.
However, for Hockey Semifinals and Finals and Gymnastics Team Finals – events with far fewer participants – a limited number of spectators will be allowed, as determined by participating schools, to include only parents, legal guardians and essential administrators. Basketball games during the next two days also will allow only limited spectators, as determined by participating schools and following these same restrictions. Each competing school will provide the entry list of parents, legal guardians and essential administrators to the host site prior to each contest.
To recap, here is a breakdown of sport-by-sport attendance stipulations and broadcast information.
Boys Swimming & Diving Finals
Rounds: Preliminaries on March 13, Finals on March 14
Attendance: No on-site spectators allowed.
Broadcast: Live streaming of prelims and Finals on MHSAA.tv.
Girls Gymnastics Finals
Rounds: Team Finals on March 13, Individual Finals on March 14
Attendance: Limited to parents, legal guardians and essential administrators on March 13. No on-site spectators allowed March 14.
Broadcast: Live streaming of Team and Individual Finals on MHSAA.tv.
Boys Ice Hockey Semifinals and Finals
Rounds: Semifinals on March 12-13, Finals on March 14
Attendance: Limited to parents, legal guardians and essential administrators.
Broadcast: Live streaming of all nine games on MHSAA.tv. Live audio on MHSAA Network.
Girls Basketball Regional Finals
Rounds: All scheduled for March 12.
Attendance: Limited to parents, legal guardians and essential administrators.
Broadcast: Live streaming of some games, with subscription, on MHSAA.tv.
Boys Basketball District Finals
Rounds: All scheduled for March 13.
Attendance: Limited to parents, legal guardians and essential administrators.
Broadcast: Live streaming of some games, with subscription, on MHSAA.tv.
Bands, cheerleaders and gatherings in parking lots or elsewhere on-site will not be allowed. Restrictions on noisemakers, etc., will continue to be upheld for those fans who will attend.
For those allowed to be present, there will be no admission charged at any of these five events. Online ticket sales have been stopped, and all tickets that have been purchased are voided and will be fully refunded.
Fans not allowed to attend will have the opportunity to watch coverage of all three of this weekend’s Finals live on MHSAA.tv. Complete streaming of all nine Hockey Semifinals and Finals is scheduled, as is streaming of both the Team and Individual Gymnastics Finals and both preliminaries and Finals for swimming & diving. MHSAA.tv also will carry a number of girls and boys basketball games this weekend as part of its usual subscription coverage by members of the School Broadcast Program.
The streaming of all three divisions of the MHSAA Swimming & Diving Finals and both Team and Individual Gymnastics Finals will be provided FREE OF CHARGE. More details about access to these free feeds will be provided in the next update this afternoon. Also, free live audio of the Hockey Semifinals and Finals will be available on the MHSAA Network.
This remains a fluid situation, and another update will be released today, March 12, at 2 p.m. Updates will be posted to the MHSAA Website.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.