WPIAL Provides Schools With Guidelines For Postponing And Rescheduling Games
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Seneca Valley School District has suspended football practice starting on Wednesday due to coronavirus concerns.
It is believed a player possibly came in contact with someone infected with COVID-19.
The postponement means that they also were forced to postpone their first game against North Allegheny on September 11 and their scrimmage with Pine Richland.
Following the postponements, the WPIAL provided teams with rescheduling guidelines.
The WPIAL emphasized safety, not postseason reward when rescheduling games.
"The intent of moving forward with 2020 fall sports is to provide an opportunity for student-athletes to compete safely for as long as possible," the guidelines read. "Therefore, the focus of all teams should be safety first, competition second, and post-season as a potential reward."
Teams were also informed they were no penalties for cancellation of seasons due to school district decisions, schools must report to their opponents any known cases of coronavirus within the team within 36 hours, and that all schools with confirmed cases must follow CDC, Pennsylvania Department of Health, and local health department guidelines.
Lastly, if a team has a confirmed case of COVID-19 during the postseason and decides not to play, that game is forfeit and they cannot re-enter the postseason tournament.
Seneca Valley has not set a date for the team to return to football-related activities.