Football – Volleyball moved to early Spring

LOCAL SPORTS   —     mshsl decisions 
 
THE MINNESOTA STATE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE HAS VOTED TO MOVE FOOTBALL AND VOLLEYBALL TO THE SPRING OF 2021. 
 
AT A MEETING ON TUESDAY, THE EXECUTIVE BOARD TOOK A NUMBER OF ACTIONS RELATED TO FALL SPORTS. 
 
A FEW SPORTS WILL BE ALLOWED TO COMPETE THIS FALL, INCLUDING TENNIS AND CROSS-COUNTRY.  THE SEASON WILL BE SHORTER THAN NORMAL, THE NUMBER OF EVENTS WILL BE REDUCED AND THERE WILL BE A LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF TEAMS THAT MAY COMPETE IN A REGULAR-SEASON EVENT.   CROSS-COUNTRY TEAMS WILL BE ABLE TO BEGIN PRACTICE ON AUGUST 17TH.   
 
AFTER LENGTHY DISCUSSION AND A SERIES OF VOTES, THE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE VOTED TO MOVE VOLLEYBALL AND FOOTBALL TO A NEW “4TH SEASON.”    
 
FOOTBALL AND VOLLEYBALL WILL BE HELD FROM MID-MARCH TO MID-MAY.   THE TRADITIONAL SPRING SPORTS WILL HAVE THEIR SEASON FROM MID-MAY TO MID-JULY.  POST-SEASON FORMATS MAY BE ADJUSTED.   
 
IT APPEARS THAT FOOTBALL TEAMS WILL PLAY SIX REGULAR SEASON GAMES AGAINST TEAMS FROM THEIR OWN AREA TO LIMIT TRAVEL.   THERE WILL BE NO SCRIMMAGES BEFORE THE SEASON.  A POST-SEASON FORMAT STILL NEEDS TO BE DETERMINED. 
 
VOLLEYBALL WILL ALSO PLAY A REDUCED SCHEDULE WITH NO ‘INVITATIONAL’ OR MULTI-TEAM MEETS DURING THE SEASON.  LIKEWISE, THE POST-SEASON FORMAT WILL NEED TO BE DETERMINED.   
 
FOOTBALL AND VOLLEYBALL TEAMS WILL BE ABLE TO HOLD A LIMITED NUMBER OF PRACTICES THIS FALL.  DETAILS WILL BE ANNOUNCED.  
 
IN OTHER NEWS, THE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE DETERMINED THAT SPRING SPORTS TEAMS THAT HAD THEIR SEASONS CANCELED LAST YEAR WILL BE ABLE TO HOLD SOME PRACTICES THIS FALL, WITH DETAILS TO BE DETERMINED.