COUNTY — The heads of high school athletes, coaches and fans are spinning after a whirlwind week and offseason for winter sports.
Arizona Interscholastic Association member schools were given permission Tuesday to reinstate winter sports after a previous vote to cancel the season. One of the reasons for the revote was to give schools the opportunity to choose whether or not they will offer sports and give athletes and their parents the choice to play.
Benson, St. David and Willcox school districts are moving forward with their season and will be competing in all three winter sports: wrestling, boys and girls basketball. Other districts in the county are opting out of the season.
Tombstone will start winter sports practices on Jan. 19 after the Tombstone Unified School District board approved a return to in-person instruction and to have sports on Wednesday. The Yellow Jackets will start competition after the AIA schedules begin because they need to complete 14 consecutive days of practices before they can play a game.
Valley Union is working on logistics to give its athletes a chance to play this season. A plan will be created this weekend if it is decided to have sports
Sierra Vista Unified School District announced Tuesday afternoon they will not make a decision about athletics at Buena High School until a return to hybrid learning. There isn’t a date set for a return to hybrid learning.
Douglas Unified School District canceled its winter sports season Wednesday. It had not moved past Phase One for winter sports before shutting down in December.
Bisbee principal Darin Giltner announced to the Bisbee Unified School District Governing Board that there will not be a winter sports this season because the schools are closed. He said it doesn’t make sense to have sports. The governing board left the decision to school administrators.
Bisbee’s girls basketball team was primed to make a state title run with eight returning players, including last year’s region player of the year. The Pumas’ wrestling team has two state champions who will not be able to defend their title.
“This is not a decision that was reached quickly or taken lightly,” Giltner said in a statement. “There is great motivation and value that comes from competition, and we certainly hope that we can compete again this spring.”
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.