The future of fall sports at area high schools is up in the air as COVID-19 cases have risen recently in Flagstaff. On Friday, the Flagstaff Unified School District put a stop to all athletic competitions due to the uptick in cases, however athletic teams can still go through practice. The case benchmark at the time was 114.5 cases per 100-thousand people. However, the Arizona Interscholastic Association states there are guidelines in place with the AIA that allows teams to continue with games. AIA Executive Director David Hines told KAFF News the AIA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee recommended that “once schools met the metrics to begin practice and competition, protocols are in place to either slow down or quarantine a team based on different information.” Those protocols say the only way a team would need to suspend practice or play, is if there is an outbreak of the virus on a team. Both Flagstaff and Coconino met the required benchmarks between August 8th and September 5th. Volleyball was supposed to start this week, with football beginning next Friday. In response to the AIA’s clarification, FUSD officials say “we appreciate the AIA and their clarity on the process.” The FUSD governing board meets at 5:30 this afternoon online, with COVID-19 set to be discussed. To watch the meeting, head to the FUSD Facebook page, or we will link it on the KAFF News Facebook Page.
To listen to the entire interview with Dave and Executive Director David Hines, click here:
