High School Swimming Exempt from Delays in Louisiana, South Carolina

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Photo Courtesy: SCHSL Twitter (@SCHSL)

Announced changes in the calendar in Louisiana and South Carolina have not affected high school swimming, a fall sport in both states.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) sent out a memo Wednesday that moved the start of the football season back to a first contest date of Oct. 8. It also made adjustments to the timeline for volleyball.

But the schedules for cross country and swimming remain untouched. High school swimming can begin practicing Aug. 10 with the first meet Aug. 31. State championships remain scheduled for Nov. 18-21.

The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) postponed the start of the football season to Sept. 8 for practices and Sept. 25 for the first competition date. But high school swimming can begin as before, with Aug. 17 as the first practice date. The state swimming championship remain scheduled for Oct. 10-12.

The picture is more muddled in Colorado. The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) moved contact sports (football, boys soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, field hockey) out of the fall. All that remains in the fall season are cross country, boys golf, boys tennis and softball.

Instead, the state will jam three seasons into the usual space of two from January to June. The former fall sports will get a March start date. Girls swimming, normally a winter sport, will begin in January along with basketball, hockey, wrestling and spirit. That constitutes a delayed start for girls swimming, which normally contests its championships in mid-February.

Boys swimming, traditionally a spring sport, will be bumped to after the former fall sports, the season starting in May and pushing into June.

“That’s really an important part of our society,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in response to the changes. “And I want to applaud CHSAA for moving forward with youth sports in high school for this year in Colorado in a safe way that makes sure that we can engage youth, and we do it in a way that doesn’t jeopardize a major setback for our state with regard to where we are for coronavirus.”

Many states have pushed back the start of the high school seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic. With high school swimming occurring in a variety of seasons depending on the state, the effects have varied, from cancellations of fall swimming seasons to condensing of later seasons to continuing on schedule with limitations.

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Anonymous
Anonymous
3 years ago

When did gymnastics become a contact sport Colorado??

Kelly Spencer Williams

When did gymnastics become a contact sport Colorado??

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