BATON ROUGE, La. (WGNO) — The Louisiana High School Athletics Association (LHSAA) announced Thursday that it would not suspend extracurricular activities, despite a recommendation issued by the state health department earlier that day.
Instead, LHSAA has left it up to schools to decide whether they want to cancel competitions.
On Thursday morning, the Louisiana Department of Health contacted LHSAA officials, advising them to pause high school sports in light of increasing COVID-19 cases.
However, LHSAA announced later that day that it would leave that decision to school districts, giving them a chance to opt out of their seasons.
For schools that decide to opt out of sports, games will be documented as canceled with no power points awarded. Additionally, their decision will stay in place until the governor or health department deems it safe to continue with sports.
Schools that decide to move forward with extracurricular activities will continue with their winter sports schedules. However, if the school is unable to compete due to COVID-19 reasons, LHSAA says the game will be recorded as a forfeit, and powerpoints (if applicable) will be awarded.
A statement issued by LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine further discussed the decision, saying:
“I have the utmost confidence that all our association membership is doing what is acceptable and right for their respective communities. This I know because you have all proven it throughout this entire COVID-19 continued disruption and challenges.”
Read the entire recommendation by LDH, along with LHSAA’s statement here.