High School Sports Season Pushed Back Until Winter

All California high school sports will not begin until mid-December

By Sam Catanzaro

High school sports in Los Angeles and statewide will not begin until December due to the rise in the coronavirus cases.

On Monday, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and CIF Los Angeles City Section (which includes Palisades Charter High School) announced the delay of the 2020 Fall sports season until December. Rather than sports being divided up into three seasons that run from August to June, there will be two seasons (Fall and Spring) that run from December to June.

“In conjunction with the State CIF and the 10 Sections in California, the 2020 Fall sports season has been delayed to December. Due to the current climate of the coronavirus and the recent spike in positive cases throughout California, it was decided in the best interests of our student athletes, coaches, and member schools to adjust the 2020-2021 sports calendar,” said the CIF Los Angeles City Section in a statement.

In addition to this newly developed sports calendar, CIF announced that student-athletes will be given the opportunity to participate with outside organizations during their season of sport, something not normally allowed.

“Throughout this fluid situation it has always been the goal to give our student-athletes an opportunity to compete. I would like to thank all of our constituents for their support and compassion that they have shown one another through this pandemic,” LA City Section Commissioner Vicky Lagos said. “These decisions took a tremendous amount of creativity, resilience, forward thinking and dedication, all while keeping the health and safety of student athletes and coaches at the forefront.”