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GHSA: Fall sports conditioning may start June 8
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Hinesville, GA- The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) will permit sports conditioning to begin on June 8, 2020, according to a release from the Liberty County School System.

The guidelines that have been issued by GHSA are specific and they will be enforced by the school system. Systems or schools can make their rules more restrictive than the GHSA rules, but not less. Due to GHSA limits on how many athletes can be on campus at one time, the Liberty County School System will allow only the fall sports to condition at this time.

The GHSA release classified fall sports as follow: Volleyball, Football, Softball, Band, and Cheerleading.

It is imperative that all student athletes and staff follow the GHSA guidelines to keep everyone safe and stop the possible spread of COVID-19. Due to known hardships in attaining new physicals, the GHSA Board of Trustees has approved an exception to allow physicals that were originally valid through the end of the 2019-2020 school year to be extended through July 27, 2020.

After July 27, 2020, a new physical for 2020- 2021 school year must be on file prior to participation. Any athlete whose physical expired prior to the end of the 2019-2020 school year must have a current physical on file prior to participation in summer conditioning.

Any student new to a school must have a current physical on file prior to participation. If the student is a transfer and brings a physical with them, it must meet the criteria listed above.

More specific information was posted on the GHSA website Thursday:

“Groups of 20, including coaches, for workouts per sport at any given time at the campus/facility.  Campus/facility denote the buildings and contiguous property surrounding the buildings.  You cannot have a group from one sport in the weight room and another from the same sport on a field on the same campus.  This includes adjacent middle school properties. If your middle school that feeds the high school is on an entirely different campus/facility, a second group from the same sport could condition at that location as well following the same guidelines.  Multiple sport conditioning groups should be scheduled with staggered starting and ending time to prevent large gatherings before and after workouts.
 

"Groups should be the same individuals (including coaches) for each session to limit risk of exposure. Students or coaches CANNOT change groups for the duration of this guidance. Athletic Directors and Head Coaches are allowed to monitor all workouts. Schools that employ a Strength and Conditioning coach may use that individual to direct all workouts. These individuals count in the group limit of 20 persons. Social distancing, hand washing/sanitizer are stressed and masks/face coverings for these individuals is highly recommended. Groups should be consistent from workout to workout.  If there are multiple-sport athletes, one conditioning group should be selected and adhered to for the duration of this guidance. There should be no student athlete in multiple conditioning groups."

Any questions or concerns should be directed to the school Athletic Directors. Bradwell Institute: Kyle Adkins (Interim) kadkins@liberty.k12.ga.us Liberty County High: Dr. Warnella Wilder wwilder@liberty.k12.ga.us

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