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Wisconsin High School Sports Face An Uncertain Winter Season

By Sarah Vandermolen

photo courtesy of nytimes.com

Although most Wisconsin high schools decided to compete in fall sports this year, it seems some schools will not have the same luck for the winter sport season.

Unlike other states, Wisconsin does not have a statewide mandate in regards to high school sports. For this reason, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) has left school districts to decide whether they will be participating in winter sports. 

Due to the increase of COVID-19 cases, many high schools in Wisconsin have decided to suspend their winter sport season, while others are charging forward with competitions. However, even if schools decide to hold their winter season, not all high schools will begin on time. 

According to rivertowns.net, "Locally, River Falls and New Richmond have suspended all athletics and activities through Dec. 7, while Hudson, St. Croix Central and Somerset are beginning as planned." 

St. Croix Central athletic director commented on their decision to proceed with winter sports, stating:

We are moving forward with winter sports, so we are as normal as that can possibly mean for this year. We have the same mitigation practices in place that we had this fall, and we will be wearing masks as outlined by the governor's mandate and WIAA. It certainly is a fluid situation and subject to change, but we want to balance how to get our kids the experience of competition and athletics while being as safe as possible.

River Falls, a district that has decided to suspend their winter sport season, has deemed "all district facilities off limits until at least Dec. 7," according to rivertowns.net. Even if practices were to begin on time, River Falls athletic director Rollie Hall doesn't believe there will be any games until Dec. 15 due to the WIAA practice time guidelines.

According to the WIAA guidelines, each sport must have a certain amount of practice before they can participate in competitions. For example, hockey must practice for 10 days while gymnastics must have 20 days of practice, not including Sundays. 

Teams will still be monitoring their players for symptoms in order to keep everyone involved healthy and safe. Wisconsin school districts have noted that their plans are subject to change as the winter season goes on. 


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