PLAY BALL

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday, May 20, that summer athletic seasons may be conducted for high school baseball and softball following a two-month activities suspension due to COVID-19.
The announcement approved the reopening of school facilities and the start of practices for Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and Iowa High School Athletic Association sanctioned summer sports starting on Monday, 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 IGHSAU Board of Directors and IHSAA Board of Control met after the announcement and both groups voted to approve resuming the 2020 summer seasons under Iowa Department of Education guidelines.
“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,” IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said.
The original first practice date was May 4 for baseball and softball.
“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. “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 organizations currently plan to conduct their state tournaments at their previously announced venues, with IGHSAU softball at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge and IHSAA baseball at Principal Park in Des Moines.
The IGHSAU has pushed the softball postseason back one week for the season.
The announcement came Friday, May 22, that the regional softball tournament will now start Monday, July 13 for Classes 1A and 2A; Wednesday, July 15 for Class 3A; and Thursday, July 16 for Classes 4A and 5A.
The state softball tournament is now set for July 27-31.
Reopening Guidance: Summer Sports
This guidance was created in consultation with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), IHSAA, and IGHSAU as a resource for administrators to determine when and how districts and non-public schools may begin to engage in school sports seasons while keeping participants and spectators safe. It must be used in conjunction with all proclamations issued by the governor and guidance provided by the IDPH. Additional guidance will be provided by IHSAA and IGHSAU on .June 1. Team organized practices for baseball and softball may begin unless circumstances dictate a change in date. The following mitigation efforts are required to help ensure player, coach, and spectator safety for practices:
• Post signage prominently indicating no one should attend or participate in practice if they currently have symptoms or have been in contact with anyone with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis in the last 14 days.
• No dugouts may be used. Players’ items should be lined up against the fence at least six feet apart.
• Parents must remain in their cars or drop off and pick up players after practice.
• Players should use their own gloves, helmets, and bats as much as possible.
• Coaches are responsible for ensuring social distancing is maintained between players as much as possible. This means additional spacing between players while playing catch, changing drills so that players remain spaced out, and no congregating of players while waiting to bat.
• Players must bring their own water/beverage to consume during and after practice. No shared drinking fountains, portable hydration stations, or coolers may be used.
•  Coaches must sanitize shared equipment before and after each practice.
• Players and coaches should check their temperatures before attending practices.
• Anyone with symptoms of illness is not allowed to practice.
• Coaches should be knowledgeable of their students with pre-existing health conditions and work with school nurses or other health officials to take additional precautions as needed.
• Players should be encouraged to provide their own hand sanitizer.
• Coaches must ban the spitting of sunflower seed shells.
• Coaches are responsible for tracking absences for the purpose of noting potential COVID-19 cases.
• Contact public health if a positive case of COVID-19 is reported.
On June 15, baseball and softball games may begin unless circumstances dictate a change in date. Baseball and softball practices must continue to follow the guidelines provided in the previous section. Additional requirements are as follows for games:
• Use of dugouts is permitted during games only.
• Coaches must sanitize shared equipment before and after each game.
• Schools must limit the use of bleachers for fans. Encourage fans to bring their own chairs or stand. Fans should practice social distancing between different household units and accept personal responsibility for public health guidelines.
• Schools must also implement any other reasonable measures under the circumstances of each school to ensure social distancing of staff, students, and community members, increased hygiene practices, and other public health measures to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 consistent with guidance issued by the IDPH.
• Fans must not attend if they have symptoms of illness.
• No concessions stands are permitted.
• Contact public health if a positive case of COVID-19 is reported.
• The release also notes that team-organized activities for all other sports remain suspended until July 1.
Use of School Facilities
If the facility is permitted to reopen, access to the remainder of the school building is not permitted unless otherwise permitted by Governor Reynolds’s current or future disaster proclamations.