After a nearly 11-month hiatus following the suspension of sports last March due to the COVID outbreak, it now appears that Dublin High School Athletics is poised to resume in a matter of weeks.
At the North Coast Section (NCS) Executive Committee meeting on January 14th, discretion was given to the leagues within the NCS to set their own schedules between the window of February 1-June 12. In response, the East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) Board of Governors has decided to disregard the previously adopted NCS calendar announced over the summer and proceed with scheduled seasons of sport aligned with recent guidelines approved by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
The CDPH guidelines for high school athletics identifies specific sports that can be played depending upon a region’s color-coded COVID status, which allows non-contact outdoors sports to be played under our current Purple tier. Accordingly, the EBAL approved Cross Country and Swimming/Diving to begin official practices on February 1st, while the Boys and Girls Golf and Tennis teams can start practicing on February 8th. The other sport allowed under the Purple tier is Track and Field, which is slated to start on March 22nd following the conclusion of the Cross Country season. Although competitions against other schools still will not be allowed until the Stay-At-Home Order is lifted for the Bay Area region, the news is nonetheless a welcome development for DHS student-athletes who thus far have been limited to training through small cohorts/pods/camps (or in some cases not at all).
Looking ahead, limited contact outdoor sports such as Baseball, Softball, and Girls Lacrosse can be played once Alameda County reaches the Red tier; outdoor contact sports and indoor non-contact sports such as Football, Volleyball, Badminton, Boys Lacrosse, and Soccer can be played when we reach the Orange tier; while indoor contact sports such as Basketball, Wrestling, and Stunt can only resume once Alameda County enters the Yellow tier. Official start dates and season schedules for all Red, Orange, and Yellow Sports are still TBD. Once our county enters a tier which would allow a sport to proceed, those sports become immediately eligible to begin practicing and the EBAL AD’s/Principals will meet within 24-48 hours of that determination to finalize an official season.
The revised seasons of play for sports this year is pending a final vote from NCS Board of Managers at its meeting on January 29th, but approval is widely expected.
