MHSA Announces Fall School Sports Are A Go

On Monday the Montana High School Association put out guidance on the fall school sports season; most notably sports are a go for fall.

Fall sports will fall under a tiered system, with the level of COVID activity determining the tier. As of now, sports fall under Tier 1, which means practices will start as scheduled. The regular season will take places as scheduled, with a few stipulations – most notably no regular season tournaments, which will affect the Broadus volleyball teams. Cross Country meets will also be limited to 200 participants – the effect on Broadus teams is still being determined. Additional social distancing protocols will take place for all sports. For example, the football teams must space themselves out on the bench and no pre-game handshakes will take place, and volleyball teams will not switch benches between sets.

Post seasons under Tier 1 are still a go as scheduled, though the potential exists for a separation of sites for playoffs. That is, instead of meeting at a central location for Districts, for instance, Broadus may host an opponent for a playoff game.

Depending on the level of COVID spread, guidance may move into more restrictive tiers, but as of right now those are just potential plans for a “what if”.

The MHSA guidance leaves the decision on how many fans may watch the games at the discretion of local school and health officials, as well as factoring in the governor’s mask directives, which currently state that everyone in counties with four or more active COVID cases must wear a mask when social distancing isn’t available.

On Monday, Broadus Schools Activity Director Mike Richards informed us that he is working with Broadus Administration to figure out how the MHSA directives will look for Broadus sports teams, and is working to arrange a modified volleyball schedule due to the MHSA guidelines eliminating the Fairview tournament. Mike said that the schedules and methods of play should be worked out in the next week or two, and we will publish the info as it becomes available.

Mike also mentioned that beginning this fall the school will have a camera system up and running in the gym and football field, courtesy of Broadus Sports Boosters. This system will allow the games to be broadcast as a livestream on the NFHS network, an online subscription service which will allow folks to watch games from home. More details on this system are also forthcoming.

For now, things are looking good for a return to sports. A few changes are in order, but overall the athletes will still be able to compete.