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MHSAA announces adjusted start dates, postseason schedule for winter sports

By: MATTHEW B. MOWERY, December 23, 2020, 4:39 pm

The Michigan High School Athletic Association on Wednesday announced the updated schedules for winter sports, which were pushed back to adjust for their late start, and approved a pair of one-year changes to weekly competition limits for hockey and wrestling.

Winter sports — with the exception of skiing, which was not impacted by the latest extension of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services’ orders to pause athletics — may start their seasons with practices on Saturday, Jan. 16, after the expiration of the current pause. 

Competitions may begin as early as the next week, starting with basketball, bowling, ice hockey and boys swimming and diving on Jan. 22; and competitive cheer, gymnastics and wrestling on Jan. 25. 

As the lone winter outdoor, non-contact sport, skiing was allowed to begin practices on Dec. 21, and remains ongoing. 

The Council has been working to give schools as much local flexibility as possible while putting together their winter seasons schedules,” MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl said in a news release. “This flexible planning has been required of us all since June, and we will continue to advocate for kids in all seasons with our continued goal of three seasons played to completion.”

Hockey and wrestling were both given the option of expanding their competition schedules slightly this season, to get more in. Wrestling teams will be allowed to compete twice per week this season, but competitions will be limited to four teams per site, and three matches per athlete each day of competition. Hockey teams will be able to twice add a second game on non-school days, as long as teams do not surpass four total games in a week the two times it takes advantage of the rule change. 

The postseason dates will be as follows for winter sports:

Girls basketball:

Districts — March 8, 10, 12

Regionals — March 16, 18

Quarterfinals — March 22

Semifinals — March 24 (two sites)

Finals — March 26

———

Boys basketball: 

Districts — March 9, 11, 13

Regionals — March 17, 19

Quarterfinals — March 23

Semifinals — March 25 (two sites)

Finals — March 27

———

Bowling:

Regionals — March 19-20

Finals — March 26-27

———

Competitive cheer:

Districts — March 5-6

Regionals — March 13

Finals — March 19-20

———

Gymnastics:

Regionals — March 20

Finals — March 26-27

———

Ice hockey:

Regionals — March 15-20

Finals — March 25-27

———

Boys swimming & diving:

Upper Peninsula finals — Feb. 27

Lower Peninsula dive regionals — March 18

Lower Peninsula finals — March 26-27

———

Girls swimming & diving:

Upper Peninsula finals — Feb. 27

———

Wrestling:

Districts — Week of March 1

Regionals — Week of March 8

Team finals — March 19-20

Individual finals — March 26-27

——————————

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