Marquette’s Seiler Hruska. cemter, reacts to a kill she made with teammates in the second set of a high school volleyball match played against Kingsford at the Redettes’ gym on Sept. 19. (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

U.P. this fall: Girls tennis began Wednesday, other approved fall sports begin today

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EAST LANSING — High schools in the Upper Peninsula and much of the northern Lower Peninsula can compete in the fall sports of soccer, volleyball and swimming, officials said Thursday.

Those are areas of the state under less strict guidelines for the coronavirus, per orders of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Schools in other regions of Michigan must wait to hear more from Whitmer, the Michigan High School Athletic Association said.

“We need more answers before we can give all of our member schools the go-ahead to play each other again, and the majority of our schools are in regions that are not yet allowed to take part in volleyball, soccer and swimming,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said.

Schools that have the green light are in regions 6 and 8, which cover the Upper Peninsula and nearly 20 counties in the northern Lower Peninsula. There will be limits on the number of people who can watch a contest, though.

The OK had previously been given to start U.P. girls tennis on Wednesday as several schools did. Volleyball, soccer and cross country were given approval to start today. Those dates are the same as what had been planned by the MHSAA before the coronavirus pandemic began.

Plans are to play football in the spring when it is hoped there will be a reduced risk of the coronavirus. The MHSAA said teams can have 16 contact practice days from Aug. 24 through Oct 31. The decision to cancel the fall season and move to spring was made last Friday by the MHSAA’s Representative Council.

The U.P. has several sports seasons that differ from the Lower Peninsula — in the U.P., girls tennis is held in the fall, while in the Lower Peninsula, autumn is the time for boys tennis, girls swimming and diving, and girls golf.

Boys soccer is contested in both peninsulas in the fall, though U.P. teams are technically playing out of season and not allowed to participate in the MHSAA tournament.

For attendance purposes for the indoor sport of volleyball, U.P. and northern Lower Peninsula schools in the less restricted zones may have 250 people or 25 percent of a facility’s capacity, whichever is smaller, according to an MHSAA news release.

Outdoor competition — for cross country and soccer — in Regions 6 and 8 may have 500 people or 25 percent of capacity, whichever is smaller.

For each sport, the total number of people allowed to be present include all participants, officials and school and game personnel, media and fans.

The Representative Council also approved out-of-season coaching adjustments allowing football and spring sports coaches more contact with their athletes in advance of the 2021 season.

Spring sports — in the U.P. that’s baseball, softball, track and field, golf, girls soccer and boys tennis — may schedule 16 contact days for voluntary practices from Sept. 8-Oct. 31 if the school permits and all safety protocols are followed.

The MHSAA said its staff was authorized by a Whitmer executive order to create all guidance for a return of school sports, and over the last eight weeks has worked to fulfill this mandate while complying with all of the governor’s executive orders.

The Representative Council was prepared on Thursday to approve competition in all areas of the state for volleyball, soccer and swimming and diving, but was unable to do that because of questions remaining on which activities are still not allowed for the majority of the Lower Peninsula.

Some information for this story compiled by Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee. His email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.