Maine high school fall sports, including football, received a significant vote of support Wednesday from the sports medicine committee of the Maine Principals’ Association.
That 12-member panel recommended by a unanimous vote that the interscholastic football, soccer, field hockey, golf, volleyball and cross country seasons all proceed as scheduled — with modifications established by the MPA’s individual sports committees to address safety issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We did this for the kids,” said Dr. William Heinz, chair of the MPA sports medicine committee. “That’s not lost on any of us.”
The MPA Interscholastic Management Committee will make a final decision on the sports medicine committee’s recommendation during an emergency meeting slated for Thursday afternoon.
If that panel chooses to proceed with the fall sports season, each school system then will have the option to either participate or opt out. At least three schools — Camden Hills Regional High School of Rockport, the Maine School of Science and Mathematics and Deer Isle-Stonington High — already have decided not to go ahead with fall sports this year.
This post will be updated.
This story appears through a media sharing agreement with Bangor Daily News.