KHSAA Commissioner prepares "Doomsday" contingency plan for fall sports

[caption id="attachment_275571" align="alignnone" width="1838"] (Photo: © @IzayahCummings)[/caption] Decision-makers across the state are formulating plans to move forward out of the coronavirus lockdown. As options become clearer, one worst case scenario would radically change the high school sports calendar. Friday morning the athletics subcommittee of Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton's economic response committee met virtually to discuss recommended procedures and guidelines for the return of youth sports. UK deputy athletics director DeWayne Peevy and KHSAA commissioner Julian Tackett were included in the meeting. Most of the details focused on how participants would enter and exit athletic facilities while social distancing. When youth sports return kids may have to wait in cars while others completed their time on the field. As their discussion neared a close, Tackett briefly addressed what could be the KHAA's worst case scenario for high school athletic events in the 2020-21 calendar year. "I'm calling it the 'Doomsday Plan' that I've been working on which would take our fall sports and play them in-between winter and spring if we didn't get a fall." Tackett's remarks were met with a sigh from the audience, "But you gotta have a doomsday plan." There is already an overlap between the winter and spring sports. If a basketball player makes a deep run in the postseason, it conflicts with baseball and track and field events. In this scenario, football, field hockey, cross country, golf, soccer and volleyball would also take place in the spring. Obviously, the logistics and specific details of this "doomsday plan" are currently unknown. One can only hope the KHSAA does not have to break glass in case of emergency, but if coronavirus prevents high school athletic events from happening this fall, there is a working plan in place.