Arizona's high school football season pushed back to October

The start of the 2020 high school football season has been pushed back again, this time to early October.

The Arizona Interscholastic Association’s executive board announced the new schedule for football and other fall sports on Wednesday.

The AIA’s plan includes staggered re-entry plans for certain sports.

High school football teams can begin practicing Sept. 7, with games starting on either Thursday, Oct. 1 or Friday, Oct. 2. Big-school state championships and the AIA Open Division championship game are slated for Dec. 11-12. Class 1A, 2A and 3A schools are still discussing the lengths of their regular season and the dates and sites for their state championship games.

The 2020 season was initially supposed to begin later this month. In July, the AIA announced that games would instead start the week of Sept. 7.

The state’s cross country and swimming and diving teams can begin practicing on Aug. 24 and start competition in September. Badminton, soccer and volleyball teams can start practicing on Aug. 31. Golf is the earliest sport to return; golfers can begin practicing on Aug. 17 and start competition the following week.

“The health and safety of our student participants, coaches, officials and essential personnel, including volunteers, is the primary concern for the return of interscholastic athletics and activities,” AIA executive director David Hines said in a press release. “We are very grateful to those who share our commitment of a return to these highly beneficial educational activities and athletics.”

The new schedule will also limit number of wins and other postseason-qualifying elements to accommodate teams that decide to start their regular seasons later than others.

Due to the delayed fall sports season, winter sports will begin one week later than initially planned.

Here’s a complete look at the high school fall sports schedule:

Football

First practice Sept. 7

First competition: Week of Sept. 30-Oct. 3

Championships: Dec. 11-12 (4A-6A & Open)

Golf

First practice: Aug. 17

First competition: Aug. 24

Championships: Oct. 26-29 (Div. I), Nov. 2-5 (Div. II)

Cross country

First practice: Aug. 24

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First competition: Sept. 9

Championships: Nov. 12-13

Swimming & diving

First practice: Aug. 24

First competition: Sept. 14

Championships: Nov. 5-7

Badminton

First practice: Aug. 31

First competition: Sept. 14

Championships: Nov. 7 (individuals), Nov. 9-12 (teams)

Fall (small-school) soccer

First practice: Aug. 31

First competition: Sept. 16

Championships : Nov. 4-7

Girls volleyball

First practice: Aug. 31

First competition: Sept. 21

Championships: Nov. 12-21

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