Wyoming’s fall sports schedule will start on time.
The Wyoming High School Activities Association made that announcement Tuesday on its website.
The WHSAA announcement said the decision to continue sports as scheduled in the fall was made in consultation with the Wyoming state departments of health and education.
Practices start Aug. 10 and Aug. 17 for various sports, including Aug. 10 for Class 4A football and Aug. 17 for other football classifications.
In an effort to reduce large gatherings of people, the WHSAA decided to move 2020 football championship games to host sites for each classification. War Memorial Stadium at the University of Wyoming has hosted championship games since 2009. The WHSAA football guidelines posted on its website said this was “with the hopes of returning to the University of Wyoming the following year.”
The WHSAA gave schools directives to create their own plans on how they will handle shared equipment tees, ball bags, footballs and so on for practices. Schools will also need to create their own standards for game days on how to handle ticket booths, bleacher seating, concession stands, locker rooms and restrooms.
WHSAA guidelines do specify the elimination of pregame and postgame events such as tailgating and barbecues. People working at events will also be required to wear face coverings, and gloves are recommended.
The WHSAA also suggested following guidelines from the National Federation of High Schools to limit contact and exposure. For football, those recommendations include the elimination of pregame/postgame handshakes and the extension of the team box to the 10-yard lines, among others.
See the WHSAA’s press release here and its specific football guidelines here. Other sport-specific considerations are here.
–patrick