Remote UIL athletic activity allowed through electronics during coronavirus outbreak
The UIL on Monday released a statement allowing for the use of technology for remote learning and coaching of activities while capping the amount of time students can instructed by those means each week during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
“During statewide school suspension, remote learning/coaching of UIL activities is allowed through electronic, video or teleconferencing type methods,” the notice said.
“Schools shall limit instruction for UIL activities to a maximum of eight hours per week per activity, in addition to a maximum of 60 minutes per day Monday through Friday.
“For athletic activities that are out of season, schools shall limit remote instruction to a maximum of 60 minutes per day Monday through Friday.”
Given the rise in the number of positive coronavirus cases, officials from a variety of municipalities have issued stay-at-home orders for Dallas, Fort Worth, Tarrant and neighboring counties over the past few days.
Last Thursday, UIL Director of Athletics Dr. Susan Elza released a statement to all superintendents saying that the suspension of all UIL contests had been extended by five weeks. March 30 was the original date that high school games could be resumed, however, May 4 is the new date.
“Our goal is to prepare comprehensive communication that will guide and direct schools in correlation with local District Executive Committees on how to proceed with contests,” Elza stated. “Please keep in mind, due to reduced calendar dates, there will be modifications in qualifying structures and timelines for district and post season events. The athletic staff is working diligently to confirm regional and state facility availability and we will work to send communication to all in the near future.”
“This is a fluid situation and additional information will come should further changes take place. Please contact your District Executive Committee first if you have specific scheduling questions. The UIL athletic staff will also be readily available for contact at anytime.”
The UIL previously sent out an email to all superintendents in the state that’s now posted on the UIL website:
“First, thank you for your leadership in helping to keep our students and our communities as safe as possible during this unprecedented crisis. We are awed by the incredible work happening across this great state in response to this ever changing environment.
Please know that we realize you are looking for clarity in this uncertain time. Unfortunately, we simply do not have enough information at this moment to provide you with a detailed plan for moving forward with UIL activities. As soon as we have more information on when schools will resume operations, we will quickly respond with a detailed plan for resuming UIL competitions.
At this point, we are committed to completing all of our competitive seasons that have not yet been completed. While the immediate future is unclear, we will continue to develop contingency plans and prepare for all possible outcomes, including extended school closures.
We have previously communicated that all UIL activities are suspended until March 30th. Given information related to school closures available at this time, we are extending that timeframe. UIL games and contests will resume no earlier than Monday, May 4th. Prior to that date, to allow students and schools to reenter competition, UIL will provide a reasonable acclimatization period for rehearsals and practices to occur, consistent with the advice of local, state and federal officials. We will reevaluate the beginning dates for practices and rehearsals as we receive more information about schools resuming.
We will be providing more guidance on district and post-season date adjustments related to this extension in the coming days. We will be as flexible as possible to help you complete district competitions and provide your students with all of the benefits that come from competition. Please do not begin to make plans for district competition prior to receiving this additional information.
We will continue to closely monitor developments as they occur. Should further adjustments be required, we will develop new plans and communicate them to you as quickly as we can.
UIL staff is here to support you in any way we can. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you have.
Again, thank you for your leadership and for your patience. We look forward to working with you to find solutions and possibilities as we work through this unprecedented situation.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 9:52 AM.
