Inside the OAA
Covering all 22 OAA teams with insight and thoughts on each team from Northern Oakland County to Southern Oakland County.
Friday, December 18, 2020
Most Winter Sports Paused for Now but Fall Sports Can Proceed.
Written Friday December 18th at 3:00 PM
Well most Winter Sports are still paused for now.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Medical Executive Joniah Khaldun, and Director Robert Gordon announced that indoor contact sports are still banned for now in a new order that is effective until January 15th.
That could change if trends improve which they have been lately.
Gordon mentioned that fall sports like football, volleyball, and swimming and diving can end their seasons. Excluding them from the order.
Football will be played on January 2nd with the semifinals on January 9th at home sites though it is possible for those games to held at neutral sites. The State Finals on January 15th and 16th at Ford Field.
Volleyball quarterfinals will start on January 5th while the State Semifinals and Finals will be played at the Kellogg Center in Battle Creek.
Girls Swimming and Diving will be held on January 15th and 16th at the three host sites.
There will be no spectators and all safety protocols will be in place.
The OAA currently has North Farmington, Oak Park, and West Bloomfield still playing in football while Clarkston is the only school left in volleyball. North Farmington heads to Traverse City Central, Oak Park goes to Livonia Churchill, while West Bloomfield hosts Romeo. Clarkston volleyball will play Grand Blanc at Lapeer in the State Quarterfinals.
The new order is not good for the indoor winter sports except for skiing which is outdoors. It’s possible they could go to the spring. It is possible that the MHSAA could extend the seasons past June.
The MHSAA Representative Council will meet again on December 22nd to address the rest of winter sports. The spring sports remain unchanged for now.
Gordon announced a new antigen testing program that can be implemented for fall sports. Wonder if it could be addressed for winter and spring sports???
“With respect to sports, outdoor and non-contact sports are reopening. We will also be offering a new pilot program for fall sports, including contact sports that use antigen tests in order to ensure safety as students complete high school fall championships. This is a very limited number of schools that had seasons interrupted and this will be a chance to do two things, it will let students complete a season that is, of course very important to them. And it will allow schools and the State of Michigan to work together to learn how these antigen tests to encourage safe reopening in January” said Gordon.
It will be very interesting to see what happens with winter sports. It will be something to keep an eye on.
Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.
Here is the MHSAA’s Statement.
Here is the Tweet from State Champs from MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl
https://twitter.com/statechampsmich/status/1340041028125020164
Posted by Saginaw Bay at 12:00 PM