MHSAA allows sports to resume June 1 with restrictions

Published 6:25 pm Thursday, May 21, 2020

High School sports in Mississippi have been on hold since mid-March, but that is changing in 10 days.

After an almost-six-hour meeting in Clinton on Thursday, the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s Executive Committee voted for all sanctioned sports and activities to resume on June 1, with restrictions and pending an upcoming announcement from Governor Tate Reeves regarding the reopening of school facilities. When that announcement is expected to be made is not known.

The committee made the decision after studying recommendations from medical professionals across the state, according to a release from MHSAA.

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“Once again, we appreciate the effort, hard work and leadership of our 15-member Executive Committee of school administrators in making difficult decisions during these uncertain times,” MHSAA Executive Director Don Hinton said. “The support of our MHSAA member schools has been greatly appreciated as well. Our highest priority is and always will be the safety, health and welfare of Mississippi’s students, educators and communities. We will continue to assess new information and develop plans for the upcoming 2020-21 fall sports and activities seasons. Weekly updates will be provided to help our member schools as we look forward to the new school year of sports and activities.”

What is allowed by the MHSAA are summer practices, workouts, skill development, weightlifting, conditioning and rehearsals for student-athletes. All coaches and activity directors must confirm with their school or school district administrators that their respective facilities are open and available for use.

Intersquad competition is still canceled until school resumes in August. This includes 7-on-7 competitions for football, and any games that are normally played throughout the month of June.

All practices and workouts will be considered voluntary for athletes and activity participants. Travel to summer programs and camps by schools or teams are not allowed. On-campus summer programs and or school camps should adhere to national, state and local COVID-19 health recommendations.

The MHSAA’s Return to Activity guidelines can be found here.