Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday 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.
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.
Gehlen Catholic A.D. and head baseball coach, Kirk Kronaizl, said the War Eagle Conference A.D.’s will meet Friday to come up with revised schedules for a now shortened softball and baseball seasons.
Troy Caswell, assistant A.D. and assistant baseball coach at Le Mars Community, said Wednesday’s announcement came as a bit of a surprise to everyone and they’re still trying to process the news. The Missouri River Conference representatives plan to hold a zoom conference next Tuesday to propose a revised schedule for softball and baseball.
COVID-19 Reopening Guidance:
Summer Sports
Purpose
This guidance was created in consultation with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Iowa High
School Athletic Association (IHSAA), and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) as a resource for
administrators to determine when and how districts and nonpublic 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.
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:
❏ 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.
IOWA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GUIDANCE
Iowa Department of Education guidance should be viewed as advisory unless it’s specifically authorized by state statute, according to Iowa Code section
256.9A. This does not apply to administrative rules, declaratory orders, or materials required by federal law or courts.
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. The following mitigation
efforts are required to help ensure player, coach, and spectator safety during games:
❏ Post signage prominently indicating no one should attend or participate in games if they currently have
symptoms or have been in contact with anyone with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis in the last 14
days.
❏ Use of dugouts is permitted during games only.
❏ Players should use their own gloves, helmets, and bats as much as possible.
❏ Players must bring their own water/beverage to consume during and after games. No shared drinking
fountains, water stations, or coolers may be used.
❏ Coaches must sanitize shared equipment before and after each game.
❏ Players and coaches should check their temperatures before attending practices or games.
❏ Anyone with symptoms of illness is not allowed to participate.
❏ 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.
In-person team organized activities for other sports remain suspended until July 1. For profit businesses that
provide sports training and that sell memberships are allowed to offer sports training as long as they follow
the same guidelines as fitness centers/clubs, gymnasiums, health clubs, and health spas and can continue to
operate for all sports.
Questions and Additional Guidance
If you have questions, please contact your school improvement consultant. If they are unable to assist you,
they will connect you with the appropriate person. For additional COVID-19 guidance and information, please
visit the Department’s COVID-19 webpage.
May 18 – May 24
nothing scheduled locally due to the coronoavirus pandemic
Le Mars Willow Creek Golf Course announced the Le Mars men’s golf league will begin Wednesday, May 20 and Thursday, May 21.
The Le Mars little league season has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic
Major League baseball still hopes to begin the pandemic-delayed regular season on the July 4th weekend, pending approval by the Players Association on the owners proposal. How much the players will be paid for playing an 82-game schedule is one of the major sticking points.
The N-B-A and the N-H-L still hopes to complete the regular season and then hold their playoffs. The regular season was halted in mid-March by the coronavirus pandemic with just a handful of regular season games remaining.
