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sports
EAST LANSING — The Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Representative Council approved a plan on Jan. 14 for adjusting schedules for the five winter “contact” sports which may begin non-contact activities Jan. 16 but not full practice and competition until Feb. 1 per the recent update to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) epidemic plan.
The updated schedule for girls and boys basketball pushes finals for those sports into late March or early April. The council approved the following dates:
Girls Basketball
First non-contact practice: Jan. 16
First contact practice: Feb. 1
First contest: Feb. 4
Districts: March 22, 24, 26
Regionals: March 29, 31
Quarterfinals: April 5
Semifinals: April 7
Finals: April 9
Boys Basketball
First non-contact practice: Jan. 16
First contact practice: Feb. 1
First contest: Feb. 4
Districts: March 23, 25, 27
Regionals: March 30, April 1
Quarterfinals: April 6
Semifinals: April 8
Finals: April 10
West Iron is scheduled to play its first girls game on Feb. 4 at home against Negaunee, while the boys are slated to play their initial game on Feb. 8 at home against the Miners.
Both Forest Park’s teams are slated to open on Feb. 4 - the girls at home against Kingsford and the boys at Superior Central.
Updated schedules from Forest Park and West Iron will be published when available.
Spring sports will continue with their traditional dates, with first practices March 15. With this updated schedule, the majority of winter athletes will have completed their seasons by the end of March.
The updated schedule does carry on through schools’ spring breaks – MHSAA research found that 63 percent of member schools have spring break the week of March 29-April 4.