The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released new Youth Sports Guidelines which paves the way for Football and all other outdoor sports that were previously on hold (Baseball, Softball, Soccer, and Lacrosse) to begin as early as February 26th. Previously, these sports were only permissible if/when Alameda County reached the red or orange tier, but the new Guidelines allow those sports to start regardless of tier status provided that COVID infection case rates per 100,000 residents was less than 14 (Alameda County was at 12.4 and dropping at the time of the announcement).
Following the announcement by the CDPH, the East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) has set the dates for Football season to be from February 23-April 17. Practices in pads would not be allowed until February 26th, the first scrimmage would be on March 6th, and the first game would be exactly one year to the day from last year’s COVID shutdown (March 13th). The EBAL season opener would be on Saturday, March 20th. The season dates for Girls Lacrosse were established to be from March 1-April 24, and the Baseball and Softball seasons were slated from March 8-May 22. All EBAL schedules are for those sports are currently updated and posted on the league website at www.theebal.com, and full season schedules for those sports (including nonleague contests) will be posted on the Dublin High School Athletics website when they are finalized.
The Boys Lacrosse season is tentatively scheduled for April 5- May 29, while the season dates for Boys and Girls Soccer are still TBD. It is anticipated that the season dates and league schedules will be announced soon.
The announcement by the CDPH contains two preconditions: 1.) Informed consent of all student-athletes and their families of the risks inherent with conducting athletic activities while the threat of COVID remains; 2.) Weekly COVID testing for student-athletes and coaches participating in Football. The COVID Informed Consent waivers are already in place, and details on COVID testing are being worked on by Dublin Unified School District officials and will be announced shortly. In addition, the Guidelines are announced in tandem with protocols previously announced by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), which has modified protocols for practices and games so they can be conducted safely.
All indoor sports remain on hold until Alameda County advances from the Purple tier through the Red and Orange tiers to reach Yellow. Despite the challenges, CIF officials still remain hopeful that as vaccinations continue to w
To review the CDPH Youth Sports Guidelines in their entirety, go to https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/outdoor-indoor-recreational-sports.aspx#