Board votes to allow high school football games in the fall

CHESHIRE, Conn. (AP) - The organization that governs interscholastic sports in Connecticut has rejected a recommendation that would have moved high school football to the spring of 2021.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s Board of Control voted Wednesday to reaffirm its fall sports plan, which was approved on July 30. That includes keeping football in the fall, with practice beginning Aug. 17.

The CIAC’s football committee, which is comprised of principals, athletic directors, coaches, and advisors voted 9-1 Monday to recommend moving its season to the spring of 2021.

But CIAC Executive Director Glenn Lungarini said the board rejected that recommendation based on input from medical advisers and after reviewing how COVID-19 numbers are trending in Connecticut.

“At this time we feel the health metrics in Connecticut have not changed,” he said. “We remain committed to looking at this on a fluid basis, evaluating information as it comes in.”

The plan calls for a condensed fall sports season, with games beginning Sept. 24 for football, swimming, volleyball, field hockey, cross country and soccer. Schools are developing a regional schedule to limit travel.

Lungarini said it is recommending that fans not be allowed at games or practices, but said that decision will be left with individual school districts.

Connecticut’s positive test rate for the new coronavirus remained low and hospitalizations decreased Wednesday, but six more people died from COVID-19, according to the latest state figures.

The new results showed 22 out of 7,977 tests were positive, representing a rate of less than one-tenth of 1%.

Fifty-eight people were hospitalized, down from 70 on Tuesday. The six additional deaths brought the state’s total to 4,450. More than 50,700 Connecticut residents have tested positive to date.