Scholastic sports in Pennsylvania will continue as planned. But there will be no spectators or fans in the stands. NO PARENTS. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) voted 29-3 during Wednesday afternoon’s Board of Directors meeting to pass the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) minutes. Heat acclimatization for football will start on August 10th, and the first day of official practices are slated for August 17th. PIAA director Dr. Robert Lombardi emphasized the PIAA’s motto for 2020 — Protect yourself, protect others, protect the season.

DISCLAIMER. I did not personally talk to Dr. Robert Lombardi, and these quotes were stolen from another AP article. I respect Doctor Bob, but he never returns his calls. We’ve had our differences over the years, and I believe that he means well. I don’t have many nice things to say about his organization, but Lombardi and many others are in a tough spot. The 26-page RETURN TO THE PLAYING FIELD is posted on the PIAA website. Interesting read. I can’t get past the second paragraph without nodding my head.

“We developed these plans with the Department of Health and the Governor’s office, and this is what we came up with,” Lombardi said. He is a brilliant man.

So, it’s a full go for the PIAA, but they do have some contingencies in place for areas that have been harder hit by the pandemic. School districts have an option to start on time, use what was called an alternate date with a September 18th start date for football or a hybrid approach with a first football game no later than October 5th. All of the decisions will come solely from the individual school districts. Not the PIAA. They will plead the fifth and make someone else take the blame.

“Many of our school districts said they were getting pressured to come up with something if they couldn’t start on time,” Lombardi continued.

The PIAA also came up with an alternate state playoff schedule they could implement if needed, which would limit the state playoffs to just district champions, and lessen the amount of qualifiers for tennis and cross-country. The PIAA will decide what to do about the state playoffs at its next meeting on August 26th after getting a read on the first ten days of practice.

“We totally understand we may have to make adjustments to everything,” Lombardi said. “We wanted a plan to be done by Thanksgiving. Some of our school districts are worried about what happens when flu season hits.”

The PIAA is allowing plenty of leeway with postponing and playing of games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lombardi also said that if a school district decides not to offer fall sports that the PIAA transfer rules would still apply. A player wouldn’t be eligible at another school if they transferred for athletic reasons. That’s nice — way to go, Bob.

Again, as I stated previously, there will be no spectators or fans — sorry parents. You are currently not allowed — even you, Dorin. The PIAA has protocols, but they are quick to pass the blame. Some have mentioned that the Department of Health doesn’t currently allow fans at any sporting events. Say what? I have been to several Little League baseball games this summer.

Perhaps the biggest issue is that only 25 people are allowed together inside. Though most fall sports are outdoors, both girls’ volleyball and water polo are contested indoors. How is this even possible?

“It’s pretty hard to do volleyball with less than 25 people,” Lombardi said. “We’ve been trying to see if we could get some leeway on volleyball and water polo. A lot of players rotate in-and-out on a volleyball team, and I don’t think we can ask a kid to swim for an hour straight.”

I totally get it. But I am going back and forth on this issue. If this virus is a hoax, then why did all of the small colleges and universities decide to cancel all of their sports? Would each school district be responsible for testing each participant before each practice? What happens if someone gets affected? Seriously no fans? Good luck enforcing that. I am not trying to be a downer, kids, but I do have several questions about the recent PIAA announcement. Take some ownership of your decision, PIAA. Don’t pass the blame if someone calls you out. Protect yourself, protect others, protect the season. Is this our best option? Cheers.