WATCH: Brevard Public Schools to Resume High School Varsity and JV Athletics this Fall

By Space Coast Daily // August 22, 2020

BPS Schools will only play Brevard County teams in the regular season, will be eligible for FHSAA State Series

ABOVE VIDEO: Friday Night Locker Room’s Steve Wilson and Orville Susong talk about the return of High School sports in Brevard County this fall.

ABOVE VIDEO: Brevard High School Sports Update: Brevard Public School Board Member Matt Susin gives an exclusive update on Space Coast Daily TV about High School Fall Sports.

BPS Moves to Stage 2 Voluntary Athletic Conditioning on Monday

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Brevard Public Schools (BPS) today announced its plans to return to athletics this month with the health and safety of its student-athletes and staff top of mind.

BPS’ Fall Sports Plan outlines the steps the District is taking to move from Stage 1 to Stage 2 voluntary athletic conditioning, beginning the week of August 24, with Stage 3/Full FHSAA Practice to start end of the month or early September for varsity football, volleyball and other fall sports and first games/matches beginning mid-September.

The plan also details universal COVID-19 precautions and expectations for school athletic directors, coaches and sponsors, and is based on the recommendations provided by the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) and its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC).

Highlights of BPS’ Fall Sports Plan include:

■ For Varsity and Junior Varsity (JV) Football, the district will be divided in two divisions which will include crosstown rivals. Each school will play each team in their division following a seven-game schedule to be provided by the District. Only in-county games will be scheduled with no more than 50 students on each team, per FHSAA recommendations.
■ Varsity and JV Volleyball will follow the same guidelines as football, with a 12-game schedule to be provided by Athletic Directors, per FHSAA games per week limit.
■ Varsity golf, swimming and diving, cross-county and bowling will be divided into two divisions based on geographic location. Players will follow a 4-5 match in-county schedule, along with the Cape Coast Conference Championship matches.
■ Travel has been minimized for all sports.
■ All fall sports are able to complete a season and qualify for FHSAA State Series.

“We are excited for our kids to regain some form of normalcy with a return to athletics this fall,” said District 4 school board member Matt Susin.

“The mental health benefits of getting back to play are immensely important during these challenging times. For many of our students, sports are the one thing that gives them that sense of pride and self-worth, along with the many life lessons learned through social interaction and working as a team.”

BPS’s Fall Sports Plan takes prudent steps in protecting staff and students through screening procedures, the use of face coverings when social distancing cannot be achieved, expectations when on the sidelines and benches, as well as locker room etiquette.

BPS’ Fall Sports Plan outlines the steps the District is taking to move from Stage 1 to Stage 2 voluntary athletic conditioning, beginning the week of August 24, with Stage 3/Full FHSAA Practice to start at the end of the month or early September for varsity football, volleyball and other fall sports and first games/matches beginning mid-September. (Colin Ziemer, SCD Image)

These guidelines align fully with the health and safety measures detailed in the District’s Reopening Plan.

As the next steps, BPS Athletic Directors will meet on August 26th to discuss and determine sport-specific guidelines will be based on FHSAA recommendations and will present those guidelines to schools prior to Stage 3/full FHSAA practice scheduled to begin August 31-September 12.

The FHSAA’s Board of Directors voted last Friday to allow member schools to begin fall sports as of August 24 and to require all coaches view a “COVID-19 for Coaches and Administrators” course produced by the National Federation of State High School Associations.