IHSAA releases COVID-19 guidelines for 2020 football season

By Matt Chinander  |   July 30, 2020, 2:05 p.m.

After announcing large revisions to the 2020 football season late last week, the Iowa High School Athletic Association announced on Wednesday their guidelines for Fall high school sports as it pertains to safety measures related to COVID-19.

The association's guidelines are considered as recommendations to its member schools and should not supersede guidelines or requirements put in place by the school district or local, state, or federal entities.

In general for all Fall sports, the association stresses social distancing, avoid groupings of more than 10 people, wearing a mask when possible, and sanitization.

As it relates to football, the IHSAA also released specific guidance and rule changes for the 2020 season. Below are some of the highlights from the association's guidance.

On-Field and Sideline

The IHSAA will be expanding the team box to each respective 10 yard lines, providng 30 additional yards for players and personnel to spread out. This change is for players only as coaches will need to remain within the 25 yard lines.

Only essential personnel (players, coaches, athletic trainers, and officials) are allowed onto the field of play. Other personnel, such as ball attendants, managers, media, etc., are considered non-essential and are to remain on the sideline, maintaining social distance of six feet apart.

In general, coaches are responsible for ensuring social distancing is maintained between players as much as possible.

Safety of Opponents

Following each contest, teams are not allowed to exchange handshakes and will only be allowed to acknowledge their opponent with appropriate, non-contact measures.

Masks are encourage but not required to be worn by players, coaches, and other team/sideline personnel.

Mandatory Timeouts and Intermissions

The officials will take a two minute timeout every four minutes of game clock in order for teams to properly sanitize and hydrate. Sanization should occur on the game balls and player hands.

The 1st/2nd quarter and 3rd/4th quarter intermissions should also be two minutes in length to allow proper sanitization and hydration.

Spectators and Press Box

The IHSAA suggests that schools should implement spectator protocols by following CDC and local department of health guidelines regarding size of gatherings and social distancing. Spectators should use six feet social distancing. Families may sit or stand together but should social distance from others. Frequent reminders will be made via public address. Just as businesses may require customers to wear masks, schools may require spectators to wear masks.

Press boxes should be limited to essential personnel: announcer(s), scoreboard operator(s), home/visiting coaching staffs, and team video personnel. Media may have access if the space for them follows social distancing guidelines and access was pre-authorized by the school district.

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The full guidelines released by the IHSAA can be found below: