by Steven Felschundneff | steven@claremont-courier.com

With the coronavirus spreading across the region and the beginning of fall sports for thousands of high School athletes just a few weeks away, the California Interscholastic Federation announced Monday that the fall season will begin in December.

The CIF announcement was highly anticipated after Los Angels County Department of Public Health modified its health order last week instructing county school districts they cannot resume in-person learning for the upcoming semester.

The CIF plan condenses the traditional three season schedule into just fall and spring, with fall competitions taking place during the winter months for the most part.

Girls water polo and boys volleyball have been moved to the fall, while girls tennis will now be played in spring. The bulk of the winter schedule will be weaved into the spring season.

There will be scheduling headaches for many of the teams as they try to use the same facilities concurrently. For instance the two soccer teams will be sharing the main athletic field at the same time as track and field which will include both practice times and competitions. There will be additional conflicts for multi-sport athletes.