Summer sports return approved for Iowa high schools
Games may occur as soon as Monday, June 15.
Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during the Condition of the State address at the Iowa State Capitol on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. Gov. Kim Reynolds discussed initiatives such as tax cuts, mental health funding, and workforce training.
May 20, 2020
Both the Iowa High School Athletic Association Board of Control and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union Board of Directors have voted to approve resuming the 2020 summer sports seasons under the Iowa Department of Education guidelines. The decisions come after Gov. Kim Reynolds said earlier Wednesday that she was giving Iowa high school summer sports permission to reopen facilities and resume practices on June 1.
Per the Iowa Department of Education, first contests may occur as early as Monday, June 15 and fans will be permitted at games.
“The IHSAA thanks Dr. Lebo, Governor Reynolds, Dr. Pedati, the IDPH and all who have worked diligently to develop these guidelines to help us conduct a baseball season for the young people in Iowa,” IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said in a release on the IHSAA website. “We trust that our administrators, coaches, umpires and fans will responsibly follow the guidelines in place to keep themselves and each other safe. This is terrific news and is a step toward getting our student-athletes reconnected to the activities that mean so much to them.”
The Iowa Department of Education has supplied reopening guidance to member schools, titled “Summer Sports” and “Use of School Facilities”, with recommendations based on conversations with the IGHSAU, IHSAA, Iowa Department of Public Health, and the governor’s office, according to the IHSAA.
Spring sports seasons in Iowa never began and were ultimately canceled on April 17 following the cancellation of in-person K-12 schooling for Iowa’s 2019-20 academic year. The original practice dates were May 4 for softball and May 18 for baseball.
“The guidelines laid out by the Department of Education and the Department of Public Health will enable us to safely move forward with a softball season this summer,” IGHSAU executive director Jean Berger said in a statement. “We are grateful for their leadership and support. We know the games will have different circumstances and that we will all have to work together to keep everyone safe, but we are confident that we are up to this challenge.”
Both the IHSAA and the IGHSAU plan to conduct their state tournaments at their previously announced venues.
Per guidance from the Department of Education, coach-athlete contact for all in-person, out-of-season sports is suspended until July 1.