Fall Sports Start Date Delayed- WIAA Update

Hello,

The WIAA has recently announced moving back the fall sports start dates for both middle school and high schools to help provide more time for districts planning and preparing for coming back to school this fall. The new dates to begin fall sports are as follows:

Football: September 5th
All other Fall Sports: September 7th

*Contests could begin as early as Sept. 18, team schedules will be reevaluated and published later this summer or early fall as we learn more.

We will await more information from the WIAA regarding fall sports season after July 22 and disseminate that information as soon as possible.

More details are available in the full press release from the WIAA below:

The WIAA Executive Board took action on July 7th, 2020 to push back the start date for fall sports.  The action was taken in an attempt to relieve pressure on member schools as they prepare for the opening of schools to in-person and/or online learning.  The current dates to commence fall sports practices are September 5th for football and September 7th for all other sports.  These starting dates (Saturday and Monday of Labor Day weekend) allow for contests to begin as early as September 18th.

On July 21st, the Executive Board will review other options for fall sports should further delays become necessary, with an announcement to be made on July 22nd.  In the interim, a planning committee made up of Executive Board members, WIAA staff, and representatives from WIAA member schools will review possible options and make recommendations.

The Executive Board recognizes this recent action creates many questions, and it will work to provide answers on July 22nd.  In the interim, we suggest schools avoid any rescheduling of games in Arbiter until a decision is made on how the delayed start impacts the fall season.