The start of the Kentucky high school winter sports season, to include basketball, swimming, wrestling, and cheer, will be delayed until the first week of January in hopes of getting a full season played.
The KHSAA Board of Control voted unanimously Wednesday to begin games January 4, with the state tournament to still be played at Rupp Arena in March.
KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett presented the board with several options for the basketball season, but he “couldn’t in clear conscience” recommend starting the basketball season on schedule next week.
Most of Kentucky’s counties are listed in the “red” for COVID-19 rate increases with Governor Andy Beshear releasing more restrictions later Wednesday to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The move means events such as the Marshall County HoopFest and the King of the Bluegrass as well as Christmas holiday tournaments would be lost. However, it allows the All A Classic and Kentucky 2A Championships a chance to have their tournaments if they can secure tournament locations.
One of the options saw the basketball season play a full season and play the state tournament in late April and the first week of May. However, some board members wanted to keep the state tournament tradition of playing the Sweet 16 in March with desired state tournament dates the weeks of March 15 and March 22.
Instead of the district tournament being played in mid-February under the old schedule, the district tournaments will now be played the week of March 1 with region tournaments to be played the week of March 8. It means teams will now work to schedule games the final two weeks of February to fill out their regular season schedule which is now a 55-day window.
There was also concern about overlapping seasons between winter and spring sports that could have made it tough for athletes to compete in both.
Several board members also did not want to see a limited spring sports season after those sports saw their seasons lost earlier this year due to the COVID-19 shutdown.
The BOE also approved a revision to the current travel restrictions to remove the non-contiguous county restriction. It will be recommended that schools not travel to out-of-state counties where the incidence rate would place them in “red” status in Kentucky.
Schools will also need to adhere to the Governor’s travel ban for any team or individuals traveling to participate in states on the current advisory listing, including 14-day quarantine upon return.
