In order for the AIA to make the most informed decisions regarding the starting of athletic activity this fall, two surveys will be e-mailed to each member school principal in July that will gauge schools’ plans on reopening for students and reinstatement of athletic teams.
The first survey will be sent in early July with a due date of July 10 regarding football and fall soccer, and another survey will be sent out two weeks later with a due date of July 24 for all other fall sports of badminton, swimming & diving, girls volleyball, golf and cross country. The surveys will be conducted in this timeline as practice for football and fall soccer begins before the other fall sports.
The AIA Crisis Management Committee — composed of AIA staff, Executive Board members and representatives from all conferences — will meet the Monday following both deadlines to evaluate survey responses in order to properly plan for a fall season.
Schools will not be locked into any answers that they provide on these surveys. They are merely tools to help in the process.
In May the AIA decided to defer to the school districts to draft their own return to play guidelines while following the CDC recommendations. Thatcher, Pima, Willcox, Morenci and Safford have all returned to working in the weight room and condition in Phase 1 of their plans.
