Jan. 6, 2021 - Second Semester Middle School Athletics
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Based on feedback from middle school principals and athletic directors, any interested middle school student-athletes will have the opportunity to participate in skill development, conditioning workouts and, for some sports, intramural competitions beginning in the second semester.
This means contests and games between schools will not be held. Circumstances will continue to be reviewed as conditions change.
Students will be able to participate in athletic activity only on days when they are in school for face-to-face instruction. Schools will reach out to Virtual Academy students to determine interest in participating. Athletic Directors and Principals will work together to assign interested Virtual Academy students to cohorts, with the intent of keeping participation numbers similar across the three cohorts.
All participants will need to have an up-to-date pre-participation exam (physical). All exams with a doctor's signature dated on or after March 1, 2019 remain valid through the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. All students planning to participate will be required to submit an updated Athletic Participation Form through the online registration platform, which will be open for a window of time prior to each of the three seasons.
UPDATE Feb. 9 - Activities and Schedule
Due to the delay in return to in-person instruction on campus sites, there is a new schedule for athletic activity. It was not possible for every season to be the same duration due to the compressed timetable.
- Fall Sports - Feb. 22 - March 19: Volleyball, Girls’ Soccer, Football and Cheerleading
- Spring Sports - March 22 - April 30: Softball, Boys’ Track and Field, Girls’ Track and Field, Boys’ Soccer (Schools with existing school-sponsored baseball teams may have on-campus activities during this season if approved by the principal.)
- Winter Sports - May 3 - May 21: Girls Basketball, Boys Basketball and Cheerleading
FAQ
Why can only some sports offer intramurals?
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has determined that football, basketball and cheerleading are higher risk sports for the transmission of COVID-19. If that designation changes, we will consider allowing those sports to offer intramurals.
Why can students only participate on days when they are in school for face-to-face instruction?
There are two main reasons for this decision:
- Students entering the school campus in the afternoon and interacting with other students increases the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission. Our ultimate goal is to protect the health and safety of students and staff so our school buildings can remain open for face-to-face instruction.
- Middle school students have less access to transportation than high school students and therefore have fewer options for getting to school in the afternoons. It is inequitable to have activities open only to those students who have an available adult able to take them to campus in the afternoons.
