IHSAA sets ‘nebulous’ guidelines for fall sports

<p>Football season doesn’t officially kick off until Aug. 21, but when it comes to safety protocols in regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, state officials have already mastered the art of punting.</p><p>One day after Indiana governor Eric Holcomb said that whether schools play sports is &quot;a local decision,&quot; a set of guidelines released by the IHSAA on Thursday is also leaving most decisions regarding the fall sports season, including rules regarding spectators, up to individual school districts and athletic departments.</p><p>Variations of the phrase &quot;at the discretion of the host school&quot; appeared several times throughout the body of that release.</p><p>Crowd sizes will largely be governed by the restrictions currently in place under Phase 4.5 of the state’s re-opening plan. Each set of bleachers should be no more than 50 percent capacity, the IHSAA release said, with a max of 250 people even if more could fit. Family units may sit together, the IHSAA release says, but must maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from other families.</p><p>Those guidelines are subject to change in different areas, pending the decisions of local health departments. But Betsy Swearingen, director of the Johnson County Health Department, said Wednesday that her office will not impose any stricter regulations than what the state has in place.</p><p>County athletic directors said that overall, the IHSAA guidelines didn’t offer much of a road map.</p><p>&quot;It’s so nebulous that it makes it real difficult to define what they’re defining,&quot; Center Grove AD Jon Zwitt said.</p><p>Edinburgh athletic director David Walden said that his school’s plan has already been approved by the county. Football attendance will be capped at 525 fans (350 home, 175 away) including standing room, with a hard max of 750 people overall including teams, cheerleaders and other game personnel. For volleyball, 250 people will be the maximum allowed in the gym, including 220 fans at most.</p><p>Greenwood will be limiting capacity to 25 percent, which should only make an impact when it comes to football. Attendance at those games would probably come in just under 1,000; tickets will be pre-sold during the week, with players, cheerleaders, band members and seniors getting priority.</p><p>Franklin is erring very much on the side of caution with its plans, limiting spectators at home football and volleyball events to 250 for as long as the state remains in Phase 4.5. Athlete parents will be given first priorty. Soccer matches and multi-team cross country invitationals will be open to athlete parents only.</p><p>Center Grove, Indian Creek and Whiteland had not yet had their proposals formally approved as of Thursday evening.</p><p>With football open to fewer fans, Center Grove and the Mid-State Conference schools will be offering a pay-per-view option so that fans who are unable or unwilling to attend in person can still watch games on Friday nights.</p><p>That will help mitigate the damage from the lost ticket revenue, but it’s unlikely to make up the entire difference.</p><p>&quot;Everybody’s going to lose money this year,&quot; Franklin athletic director Bill Doty said. &quot;That’s just the way it is.&quot;</p><p>The IHSAA release also included sport-specific guidelines for the fall season, largely in line with those that had governed teams through preseason workouts.</p><p>One of the key changes in volleyball — an interesting test case as the only indoor fall sport — is the elimination of the traditional practice of the teams swapping benches between sets. That will be prohibited this year except in cases where a &quot;clear and distinct disadvantage&quot; exists.</p><p>Masks are being required for all personnel not actively involved in strenuous activity; that would include players, coaches and trainers on the sidelines as well as spectators. As an additional precaution, traditional pre- and postgame handshakes are also being eliminated this season.</p><p>Greenwood AD Rob Irwin says that he’s been impressed with how well students have responded to the new protocols at practices and in school so far. How the rest of the fall goes, he says, depends on everyone else.</p><p>&quot;Our kids are doing it, because they know they want to play,&quot; Irwin said. &quot;It’s the adults now — now we need them to step up when they start coming to events, to get their masks on and stay socially distanced.</p><p>&quot;People want it to be normal, and it’s not going to be normal this year.&quot;</p>