OHSAA planning on Aug. 1 start

The Ohio High School Athletic Association is planning for the fall sports season to begin as planned on August 1.

Interim executive director Bob Goldring did say in a Tuesday teleconference that while everything is still planned, everything is "fluid" based on decisions and guidance made by the governor's office.

The ultimate decision whether to have sports if permitted will be with the member schools.

"Just like every other extracurricular activity, we don't think it's the (OHSAA's) place to say yea or nay to sports." said Goldring. "Our main thing is tournaments. We really have to take directive from the governor's office, his team and his medical staff. If there's going to be delays on the season, if there's postponements on the season, if there's items placed where only non-contact sports are permitted, then we have to pivot and look at our different options looking forward."

Goldring, who took over on a interim basis after Jerry Snodgrass was relieved of his duties last week, said the conversations he has had with state leaders were positive.

"Right now, being clear, this is the message we've shared with our membership: we're looking to start (fall) practices as they're scheduled to start on Aug. 1 with the seasons to follow," said Goldring. "Talking to (state officials), that's what we were led to believe. That's what our board is interested in and what our staff is working for. Like I said before, all that is fluid and subject to change."

Goldring also said individual schools would decide on protocols should student-athletes test positive for COVID-19.

"I think right now, they are afforded the opportunity to make those decisions on the local level with students in the classroom," said Goldring. "Some may quarantine the student, others may quarantine the entire class or go entirely virtual for the entire school. Right now, our mindset is that it's a local decision and we hope to gain clarity from the governor's office. If they expect us to decide, that's something we'll talk about as a staff and the board."
  The OHSAA staff has had dialogue about possible contingency plans should delays in the season come up, but Goldring declined to elaborate publicly.

"I think you would understand that it would not be appropriate at this time," said Goldring. "Our first priority is really to start our season on time. Would we consider other options? It would be naive for us to say 'no.' I've been on conference calls with other state associations and plans have been forwarded to our office. It wouldn't be in our best interest to say we wouldn't do X, Y or Z. … I can say our staff has stepped up to the plate and has thought of some things."

The thought of switching seasons - moving the fall sports season to the spring and vice versa - is something that Goldring cannot see Ohio doing at this time.

"For a state like Ohio with over 800 schools (in the OHSAA) and so diverse with sizes and types of communities we have, we have a lot of two- and three-sport athletes, not as many as we hope and not as many as in the so-called olden days" said Goldring. "We would like to complete our fall seasons without interruption. The size of our state makes it challenging to finish in the spring when we have so many sports to offer and so many kids who participate in those other sports.  

"We're open to recommendations and ideas," he added. "We're having those internal discussions. We're considering everything at this point."