OHSAA updates and precautions as fall sports begin

COLUMBUS — With practices for all fall sports beginning this Sunday, and the season kicking off later that month, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has sent updates and reminders to it 817 member high schools and 747 member seventh and eighth grade schools. Heat precautionsSchool administrators and coaches are asked to review the heat acclimatization and exertional heat illness prevention section in the OHSAA Handbook prior to any interscholastic practices.The sport of football has a five-day required acclimatization period and cross country has a 10-day required acclimatization period. All athletes joining the team at any point of the season also must participate in the sport-specific acclimatization period prior to any contact drills (football) or competition (cross country). COVID-19 updateThe Ohio Department of Health released newly revised guidance for K-12 schools on Tuesday, with some information related to interscholastic sports. Although Ohio lifted most statewide pandemic-related health orders on June 2, the risk is still there for illness from COVID-19. The OHSAA and ODH urge the membership to continue to follow safe protocols to protect everyone, especially those individuals who are not fully vaccinated. There are currently no mandates regarding vaccinations and social distancing, and the only mandate on masks is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirement that masks be worn while using public transportation, which includes school buses. It is highly recommended that coaches and student-athletes who are eligible for vaccinations to be vaccinated and it is highly recommended that those who are unvaccinated maintain social distancing and wear masks in indoor facilities and in outdoor facilities where there are crowded situations. Academic eligibilityFor the first grading period of the 2021-22 school year, the OHSAA has suspended the academic requirement that student-athletes must have passed five one-credit courses (or four classes at the junior high grade level) in the final grading period of the 2020-21 school year. Therefore, all student-athletes are eligible with respect to their OHSAA scholarship eligibility, for the first grading period of the 2021-22, unless a school chooses to enforce its own scholarship standard.However, the OHSAA's academic requirement will be back in use for the second grading period. That means that fall and winter student-athletes need to be certain they pass at least five one-credit courses at the high school level or four classes at the junior high grade level. Divisional breakdowns unchangedPer action by the OHSAA Board of Directors, the 2020-21 enrollment data and tournament divisions will be utilized again in the 2021-22 school year. With some schools not offering sports along with many students transferring to non- traditional learning modules last fall due to COVID-19, the Executive Director's Office deliberated on how to handle enrollment data.October 2020 is when the OHSAA traditionally would have received that data (EMIS) from the Ohio Department of Education for use in tournament representation, tournament division breakdowns and classifications for OHSAA District Athletic Board elections. While understanding many schools had various unique enrollment situations this year, it was determined that utilizing the same data for a third and final year was the fairest for all OHSAA member schools since any new data collected would likely be severely skewed and/or an unreliable representation. Constitution Article 6-1-9 allowed the Executive Director's Office to make this change, and it was subsequently approved by the Board. Fall sports practices startThe starting date for coaching for all 2021 OHSAA fall sports is Sunday. Each school/school district shall determine if they choose to start on that date or later. As a reminder, at the OHSAA Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 14, a recommendation was approved that permits schools to complete the first two days of the football acclimatization period in July. During that time, a helmet is the only equipment that may be worn.