TSSAA Delays Contingency Plan Decision For Football, Girls Soccer

The TSSAA Board of Control made the decision to delay their vote for a contingency plan for football and girls soccer on Wednesday.

This comes after the July 1 meeting where four options were presented to the Board of Control for how they could handle a delayed start to the football season. TSSAA Director Bernard Childress said they wanted to give the Governor’s office more time to analyze data before they make a decision.

“We have had lengthy discussions with (Governor Bill Lee’s) legal council,” Childress said. “Based on our conversations, we think right now that it’s best to delay any vote for a contingency plan…there will come a time when we have to make a decision on the contingency plan, but right now, it is our opinion that we need to give their legal team to see if it’s needed for girls soccer and football.”

The first three options presented each represented a way to start the season once the Governor’s state of emergency order is lifted on August 29. The first two would mean teams would play a TSSAA-scheduled region slate of seven and eight games, respectively, while the third option would allow teams to keep their schedule as is and only miss their first two weeks.

The fourth option laid out would allow for the TSSAA to be grouped in with collegiate and professional sports, therefore making them exempt from the no-contact part of the order.

Childress says that the Governor’s office is well-aware of their calendar, and that they will continue to work towards an answer.

“We still have some time, and as one of their legal counsel said, let’s hope for the best and plan for the worst,” Childress said. “We have the plans, but it’s not necessary for us to make that decision today. We need to give them an opportunity to do what they need to do and watch the data.”

Childress echoed the idea that everyone needs to do their part to help increase the chance that fall sports gets played on time.

“If we have any chance of having fall sports, we would echo the same thing they were saying,” Childress said. “You need to help us out. People need to wear masks, social distance and wash their hands. We need to get our number (of cases) down. The return on investment of that is that we would get to have fall sports, hopefully on time this year.”