Status of Fall Sports Uncertain After Latest City Order

The latest order by El Paso City-County Health officials has left schools all over the County facing uncertainties regarding Fall athletics.  As a result, families and booster clubs who by now would already have their Friday night football plans set are facing the possibility of the season being postponed by at least six weeks.  And while high school football may be the most prominent of the fall sports, volleyball is just as big a deal to families with young ladies who play.

The order released this week indicates that on campus instruction as well as athletic practices and games will need to be pushed back to after Labor Day.  Complicating matters a bit is that this is a local directive.  High school athletics across Texas are overseen by the University Interscholastic League and they’ve approved for Fall sports practices to begin on August 3.

In the case of high school football, UIL rules indicate that a certain amount of practices must be held prior to a school being able to play their first game.  These rules along with the latest health order has local schools looking at a six-week delay to the start of the season.  Schools are also facing the possibility of having shortened seasons for their Fall sports which currently adds to the uncertainty in El Paso.  This week, New Mexico announced that their Fall sports would be played the Spring, so for now, Las Cruces families have a clearer picture of what to expect.

To say getting information on the start of school and sports has been a bit of a rollercoaster is a massive understatement.  Personally, I’m hoping that health and school officials can find a way to safely allow for as normal and uninterrupted a school experience as possible during this pandemic.