FHSAA Updates Fall Sports Schedule

The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) held a press conference Monday to discuss schedule adjustments for fall sports. The changes come after recent hurricanes swept through Florida over the past month, forcing cancelations and delays across high school sports.

https://twitter.com/FHSAA/status/1845835575971975603

Both individual and team sports will be affected.

Individual Changes

Craig Damon, FHSAA executive director, said bowling, cross country, golf and swimming will be the individual sports affected. The minimum contest requirement for state series competitions has been waived, allowing “flexibility” for those affected by the storms.

Damon said the goal is to give everyone an opportunity to compete. The ruling allows those who had matches canceled due to the storms to compete for state championships.

Team Sports

Damon also announced volleyball and football will be extending their district competitions.

Firstly, volleyball is stretching district tournaments through Saturday, giving an extra day to play the games. The FHSAA executive director said the Saturday deadline will also be flexible, allowing teams to finish matches beyond that date in certain cases. He said the dates for the state competitions won’t be changed.

Similarly, FHSAA announced football will move the bye week from Dec. 2 through Dec. 6 to Nov. 4 through Nov. 7. Damon said teams can choose to use the week as a break or to make up games that were previously canceled. It also allows every school to get a bye week instead of reserving it for state finalists.

The change ultimately extends the high school football season by a week; Damon said the playoffs will start on Nov. 15 instead of Nov. 8. He said all regular season contests will be completed by Nov. 7. According to the FHSAA website, playoff brackets will be released Nov. 9.

.@FHSAA announces high school football regular season will be extended a week due to the cancellations from recent hurricanes in Florida @WPBF25News

— Yianni Kourakis (@WPBF_Yianni) October 14, 2024

Overall, Damon said football is the only sports schedule to be delayed. All other sports will remain on track and winter sports won’t be affected.