Harris “T-Harris” Guidry, Sr.
December 31, 2021
Walmart awards Cajun Navy $50,000 foundation grant
December 31, 2021
In a memo sent to school principals, athletic directors and other members Thursday night, LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine said they have no plans to suspend high school sports at this time due to the omicron variant, despite yesterday’s recommendations.
LHSAA issued a statement saying they would not be suspending high school sports despite the guidance:
“LHSAA sent a memo to all member principals & ADs at 6:15 p.m. The state epidemiologist recommended there be a suspension of extracurricular activities due to the new variant. The LHSAA will NOT be issuing a concurrent recommendation for suspension of extracurricular competitions.
“AGAIN, to avoid misinformation, the LHSAA will NOT be shutting down sports due to the recommendation of the state epidemiologist and the LDH. Happy New Year!”
According to media sources, the memo said the LHSAA will allow local health agencies and education systems to make their own decisions on the status of their sports seasons.
The letter also addressed the repercussions of missing games either from a suspended season, or forfeits for Covid reasons.
If a school opts to suspend its high school sports based on advice from its local health organization, any games missed will be listed as canceled, no power points will be awarded and no games can be rescheduled or added before Jan. 29. That suspension will remain in place until the governor or the Louisiana Department of Health recommends that sports/extracurricular activities can resume.
Teams that choose to continue to hold their season, then must miss games because of COVID-related issues, will forfeit those games in accordance with the guidelines used this fall for football and volleyball.
Schools were asked to inform the LHSAA of their plans to suspend sports as soon as possible. Schools continuing to play will follow their planned schedule.
