NewsCoronavirus

Actions

WIAA to discuss strategies for resuming games Thursday

Posted at 5:28 PM, Jul 21, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-06 10:55:46-04

The state's governing body for school sports announced it will make a decision about the fall following its meeting on Thursday.

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, or the WIAA, says it will discuss potential plans for fall during a virtual session for special business. The fall season is scheduled to start during the first week of August.

The board will also consider and respond to a proposal from a superintendent in southwest Wisconsin.

Rob Wagner is the superintendent of the Lancaster Community School District. He sent a letter to the WIAA suggesting the board move fall sports to spring, and spring sports to summer. That way, he says, the board can avoid canceling a season altogether.

"I wanted to give them another thought that if it looked like cancellation was going to take place, and the only option they had, I thought why not look at trying to do some juggling around and so we could still offer some hope for kids," Wagner said.

In response to Wagner's proposal, a Change.org petition was launched to keep fall sports from moving to the spring. As of Tuesday afternoon, it had more than 3,000 signatures.

Many schools have been waiting for a decision, and some are getting ready for all possibilities.

Brian Heimark is the athletic director at Menomonee Falls High School. He says preparing for sports is not unlike preparing for the school year.

"Things look different, I mean everything looks different," Heimarks said. "Crowds, whether you have people in the stands, how you conduct a practice, where you can be, how you can be together, all those things are different."

Community spread within Waukesha County prompted administrators with the School District of Menomonee Falls to end its summer sports program.

Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip

Coronavirus in Wisconsin

More data on Wisconsin's vaccination progress here.

Find a vaccination site here.

Check out county-by-county coronavirus case numbers here.

More information: COVID-19 on the Wisconsin DHS website

Latest news and headlines here.