High School Football: Full-Contact Practice Can Now Begin In Some California Counties, But No Games Yet
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — With COVID-19 rules for youth sports being loosened, high school football teams are starting full-contact practice again.
The changes released last week mean that high and medium contact sports will be able to be played again in counties in the Purple or Red tiers of reopening as long as the coronavirus case rate is equal or less than 14 per 100,000.
This means high school athletes in a total of 34 of California's 58 counties can now at least start practice.
While Sacramento, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties are still not cleared to play, many counties in the area meet that threshold - including El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Solano and Yolo.
Friday is the first day teams are allowed to have full-contact practice. According to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, teams will need 10 full days of practice before games can be played - so the earliest any high school football games could be played again in the area will be March 12.
Other sports - like soccer - could start having games as early as Friday, officials say.
Games resuming will depend on all coaches and players 13 and older being tested for COVID-19 at least once a week. Further, the test results will need to be available within 24 hours of a competition, according to the state's guidelines.
