NCHSAA postponement of fall sports leaves uncertainty

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Bo Thompson welcomed Myers Park HS head football coach Scott Chadwick to WBT's Morning News on Friday. 

Among the burning questions related to the Covid-19 outbreak was Governor Roy Cooper's continuation of Phase 2 putting high school sports on a further delay. The North Carolina High School Athletics Association announced the 2020 fall sports season will be postponed until further notice after Cooper's ruling on Wednesday.

"I honestly wasn't overly surprised about the High School Association moving the start date," Chadwick said. "They really didn't have any choice when the governor decided not to put us in Phase 3. It's kind of hard to run sports when we're not in Phase 3." 

In an email, the NCHSAA said its "board of directors and several committees will work on a solution over the coming weeks." and hopes to make an announcement on the status of the season by Aug. 17.

Chadwick was taken back by NCHSAA waiting until mid-August to hand down a decision on fall sports, but understands the complex situation. "I think maybe (NCHSAA) is going to try and wait a couple weeks to see if we might move into Phase 3. If the science and data start to look in that direction." 

The State of North Carolina sees Phase 2 conditions for at least another five weeks, until Sept. 11. NCHSAA originally postponed the official start of fall sports practices and tryouts until Sept. 1 in July, but the latest ruling leaves a lot of uncertainty. A contiunation may come with a possible move of all activities to Feb. 2021.