Huntington Beach Union High School District is staying local as its begins the return to competition.
The six-school group has settled on a district-only schedule for boys and girls cross country — at least at the start — and plans to open Season 2 with a similar strategy for sports approved for competition in the purple and red tiers, district athletic director Jim Perry said on Monday, Feb. 8.
Cross country is the only Season 1 sport approved by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for competition amid the most restrictive, purple tier, which blankets most counties in the state, including Orange County. The purple tier signifies widespread risk for conronavirus in the state’s monitoring system.
Perry said his district decided on the scheduling format to aid with a safe return to competition and to proceed amid uncertainty for some neighboring athletic programs.
HBUHSD’s schools — Edison, Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Marina, Ocean View and Westminster — have ties with the large Sunset Conference, Pac 4 and Big 4 leagues in football and the Golden West League.
“We weren’t sure what the status was of some of the schools in the leagues that our schools compete against,” Perry said. “We know what our plans are, so we put together a schedule for our six schools with openings, and leeway and flexibility for if, and when, those other districts, teams and schools decide that they’re going to participate and are ready to go.”
The all-district schedules also give Perry some comfort when it comes to safety protocols.
“We know what we have done as far as educating our coaches, educating our students, educating our parents,” he said. “We know, and can control our protocols.”
Cross country competition in the league will kick off Saturday, Feb. 13 with the following schedule: Huntington Beach at Edison, Westminster at Fountain Valley and Marina at Ocean View.
The district also has scheduled competition for the purple tier sports of swimming, track and field, golf and tennis and red tier sports of baseball and softball. “Those are all ready to go,” Perry said of the schedules.
Huntington Beach Union’s scheduling efforts are similar to the plans of the Crest View Athletic Association (CVAA) in cross country. The CVAA features schools from the Saddleback Valley and Capistrano Unified districts competing against each other in dual meets.