After postponing all indoor athletic events on Monday, the Santa Barbara Unified School District took the additional step of postponing outdoor sporting events on Thursday, as a response to the recent COVID-19 surge brought forth by the Omicron variant.
“Unfortunately, all contests have been suspended and will be reevaluated on a weekly basis,” said Santa Barbara High School athletic director Todd Heil.
Outdoor events that were scheduled for Thursday, include the Santa Barbara versus Dos Pueblos boys’ and girls’ soccer matches and the prestigious Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, which is hosted by the Santa Barbara High girls’ water polo programs and features many of the top teams in the state.
Many of the winter sports were set to begin Channel League play this week and will now be looking at significant adjustments to the most critical portion of their schedules moving forward.
The California Interscholastic Federation announced in a January 5 press release that it will be suspending bylaw 5.04M which prohibits athletic competitions on Sunday. The suspension only applies to games and not practices or other team activities. Allowing Sunday competitions will give schools more flexibility in rescheduling games that have been postponed.
Support the Santa Barbara Independent through a long-term or a single contribution.