Mid Penn Conference delays start of fall sports practices 18 days to Sept. 4

The Mid Penn Conference, which includes Franklin County's five District 3 schools, is delaying the start of fall sports practices to Sept. 4 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Chambersburg Area Senior High School athletic director Jeremy Flores confirmed to the Public Opinion confirmed on Monday.

The decision comes four days after the PIAA announced that fall sports would begin on time, with some caveats.

The conference further clarified this move on Twitter, noting that Sept. 4 is "the earliest" teams can begin practice, and will require individual school board approval. It says the rationale for the decision is that many school districts have delayed the starts of school years.

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The PIAA lists Aug. 17 as the first day of practice for Pennsylvania schools, although Aug. 10 is listed as the beginning of heat acclimatization for football.

The Mid Penn is the first District 3 conference to announce any sort of delay to practices due to coronavirus.

More information will be made available after Thursday's conference athletic director meeting.

The decision comes the same day Gov. Tom Wolf expressed concern about contact high school sports being played at schools that have moved to completely virtual learning this fall. The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association announced Monday it would postpone both fall and winter sports until at least January. 

“I’m not sure we’ve figured out exactly how we can do this, but what happens in schools should be consistent with what happens on the playing fields,” Wolf said during a press conference with Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine Monday. “In other words, if the school is going completely virtual, it seems hard to justify having in-person contact sports being played in the fall. If the school is going to be open and feels it’s safe — if teachers, administrators parents feel it’s safe to reopen — that’s a different proposition for contact sports.”

Wolf said more guidelines on high school sports will be released Wednesday. 

It remains to be seen if the Mid Penn's decision has ripples effects with the rest of District 3, which is scheduled to meet next Monday. It is likely that the rest of the leagues in the district will have made decisions by then. 

The Lancaster-Lebanon League voted Wednesday to delay the start of the fall sports season to Sept. 4. The exception is L-L golf, which will start practice on time on Aug. 17.

York-Adams league principals and athletic directors held a virtual meeting regarding fall sports Tuesday morning, but a decision on a start date has yet to be made, according to executive director Chuck Abbott on Tuesday. 

Abbott said the league will have a decision on the start date for fall sports "probably by the end of this week."

"The issues and concerns are the same that everyone else shares. There are still a lot of obstacles to overcome," Abbott said. "It's going to be what's best for the league." 

York Daily Record sports reporter Matt Allibone contributed to this report

This is a developing story, more to come.