Following Executive Order 2020-44 from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey — which dictated that schools throughout the state will not start in-person learning until Monday, Aug. 17 at the earliest — the Arizona Interscholastic Association has released an estimated schedule for the potential start to the fall sports season.

While the AIA estimates that golf could get underway on Aug. 24 and badminton could begin on Aug. 31, golf is a spring sport at SRRHS and the Scorpions do not participate in badminton. The remaining fall sports, which at Sedona includes boys and girls cross country, swimming and diving, soccer and girls volleyball, are all estimated to begin the week of Sept. 7.

While the most recent news from the AIA does convey some optimism that a fall sports season will happen, nothing is official, and like everything else in the COVID-19 world, the situation remains fluid. For example, all of the aforementioned dates are contingent upon the in-person learning date of Aug. 17 not being pushed back any further.

Prior to Ducey’s executive order, the plan was to send two surveys out to principals throughout the state to help lay out a potential return to fall sports. The first, which was to be due on July 10, would have dealt with football and soccer. The second, which was to be due back on July 24, would have dealt with all other fall sports. In both cases, the AIA Crisis Management Committee would have met the following Monday to determine the next action.

Now, principals will receive only one survey. It will go out on Aug. 4 and be due back by Aug. 7.

“The results will be shared with the Crisis Management Committee before it goes before the executive board on Aug. 17 at its regularly scheduled meeting,” the AIA statement said.

Even if the aforementioned estimates are held throughout the state, there will be additional challenges.

As it relates to fall sports other than football, the statement added that “It is possible that regular season invitationals and tournaments may be limited or canceled due to venue allowances and other restrictions.”

The statement also noted that if football started during the week of Sept. 7, an 8- to 10-game season would be played, meaning the current playoff structure may have to be adjusted. That will not apply to SRRHS, however, as the Scorpions voted to disband football for the 2020-21 school year.

Finally, even if the estimates are realistic and the AIA decides to go forth, individual schools and districts can still cancel their own fall sports season. The AIA statement even said that if cancellations are done for COVID-19 reasons, the typical penalties that come with canceling events will not be enforced.

“If a school determines that it cannot operate a fall sports season due to the pandemic, the AIA will respect that decision,” the AIA’s statement said. “Fees and penalties are waived for cancellations that are due directly to the pandemic. The AIA will also help the schools losing contests find new ones to fill out schedules.”