Wake County announces long suspension of middle school sports. Here’s the plan.
The Wake County school system is suspending middle school sports until at least January due to the ongoing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
In an online update posted Thursday, Wake school leaders said middle school sports will begin no sooner than the start of the second semester in January to protect the health and safety of students and staff. The district plans for all middle school athletics teams to play condensed seasons held sometime between January and May.
“We will monitor local health trends and follow guidance from state and federal health officials in determining if and how we may resume play next semester,” the district said in its update.
Wake’s announcement comes a day after the N.C. High School Athletics Association announced that it’s pushing back the start of the high school sports season and moving football into 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, Wake posted that high school athletic activities remain suspended indefinitely. NCHSAA has posted calendars for when individual sports may begin tryouts, practices and competitions, but Wake hasn’t decided when to allow schools to begin those activities.
Unlike high school sports, middle school athletics is governed by school districts. Wake is planning to have fall, winter and spring middle school teams all play during the second semester.
“This plan takes into consideration the unprecedented conditions under which school will resume,” Wake posted. “Delaying athletic activity will allow schools to start the school year focused on establishing health and safety protocols, school schedules and routines, academic plans, and transportation procedures.
In addition Thursday, Wake posted a general back-to-school update. Most of the district’s 162,000 students will begin the new school year on Monday. Like many other districts, students are starting taking classes online instead of getting in-person instruction.
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 7:13 PM with the headline "Wake County announces long suspension of middle school sports. Here’s the plan.."
