CIF Los Angeles City Section cancels postseasons and championships for all Season 1 sports except cross country

The LA City Section still plans to hold their cross country championships on March 27. Postseasons and championships for all other fall sports have been canceled.
CIF Los Angeles City Section cancels postseasons and championships for all Season 1 sports except cross country
CIF Los Angeles City Section cancels postseasons and championships for all Season 1 sports except cross country /

An hour after the CIF Southern Section canceled the postseasons and championships for sports that are supposed to be played in Season 1 of the 2020-2021 Section high school sports calendar, the Los Angeles City Section followed suit on Tuesday.

The one difference is that the LA City Section still plans to hold their cross country championships on March 27.

Tuesday's announcement affects girls volleyball, boys and girls water polo, and 11 and 8-man football. These sports will now only have regular season events/games if they are allowed to be played in the coming months.

"Los Angeles County is currently under a regional “Safe-at-Home” order which prohibits any kind of athletic competition," the Section's release reads. "Until that order is lifted by the Governor, everything continues to remain on hold. Once the green light is given by the State health department, then we must receive local permission from the LA County Health Department to move forward. Lastly, the Los Angeles Unified School District and charter school organizations along with their school administrations will make the final determination on CIF athletic participation for their member schools."

The rationale for the Section canceling the Season 1 postseasons is that it will give athletes the best chance to compete in as many games/events as possible. Dates that were set aside for postseason contests will now be available for all teams to have games/events if they are permitted.

Regional and state championships have already been canceled for Season 1 by the CIF State Office. Games/events in those sports can now be played up until the dates of when the regional and state championships would have occurred (see below).

But the key question remains, will the Season 1 sports be able to be played in the coming months due to the current COVID-19 trends in LA County?

Right now spring sports remain in place with the same dates the Section provided back in July. There will be a Section update on spring sports in February or March.

The California Department of Public Health released updated youth sports guidelines on December 14 that pushed back the California high school sports season until at least Jan. 25 and detailed which sports can be played when depending on what COVID-19 numbers look like in individual counties.

(Read the full guidelines here)

LA County is currently in the “purple widespread” tier for COVID-19 cases. The tiered system monitors every county’s COVID-19 test positivity and adjusted case rate. The only Season 1 sport that is allowed to be played in the purple tier is cross country, and even that can’t occur until the state’s stay at home order is lifted.

Once the stay at home order ends, cross country meets between two schools can begin if the schools okay it. When counties move into the orange tier, football games can begin.


Published
Connor Morrissette, SBLive Sports
CONNOR MORRISSETTE, SBLIVE SPORTS

Connor Morrissette is a Senior Reporter for SBLive Sports.