SAN ANTONIO – At least two San Antonio school districts are expected to further postpone the start of athletic practices due to the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
The University Interscholastic League has allowed for athletic practices for 5A and 6A high schools to begin on Sept. 7 with official games for volleyball starting on Sept. 14 and football on Sept. 24.
Recommended Videos
However, KSAT reported Tuesday morning that SAISD had delayed all in-person athletics until early October. That would push the start of the football season to late October.
In a statement, a district spokesperson said:
“At this time, SAISD Athletics will remain 100% virtual due to the uncertain COVID-19 circumstances in and around Bexar County. The new SAISD start date for in-person Athletics is Oct. 5.″
SAISD officials said the decision was made based on Metro Health’s assessed risk level for schools.
“When local health metrics indicate COVID-19 positivity rates are at or below 5% - which is Level 3 Green on SAISD’s safety matrix – we will begin strength and conditioning with our students,” Laura Short, district spokesperson said.
“We are planning for Oct. 5, but are taking guidance from Metro Health to ensure we keep our students safe. After a week or two of strength and conditioning, we will transition into sport-specific workouts and in-season sports,” Short said.
South San ISD confirmed Tuesday afternoon the district is not planning to hold athletic practices next week, but did not give a specific timeline for when practices will resume.
“We are still monitoring the data and once the numbers show it’s truly safe we will consider bringing our students for practice,” a South San district spokesperson said.
SAISD and Edgewood ISD schools play football in the same 5A district. There is no word if Edgewood ISD would push back its start dates to align district competition.
South San’s situation is more complicated. The Bobcats compete in District 27-6A which features schools from several districts.
Those schools are: Steele, Clemens, Smithson Valley, Judson, New Braunfels, East Central and Wagner.