(Columbus) – The Ohio High School Athletic Association and Columbus Crew have announced an agreement to hold the OHSAA soccer state championship games at Lower.com Field for the next four years.
The new world-class stadium sits on 12 acres in the Arena District of downtown Columbus and has a capacity for over 20,000 supporters. The venue includes a 220,000 square-foot canopy that covers all supporters during the match, providing shelter from weather conditions throughout the season.
“As a Club that is committed to championing soccer in our community and growing the game we love, we feel privileged to host a tournament that is a staple of Ohio high school sports here at Lower.com Field,” said Crew President & General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko. “Having participated in Ohio high school soccer, hosting the final of this tournament resonates with me on a personal level. Historic Crew Stadium served as the venue for OHSAA state soccer championships for two decades, and we are proud to continue that tradition at our new home, where student athletes can experience what it’s like to play in a professional, state-of-the-art, world-class venue.”
The OHSAA soccer state championships had been hosted at the Crew’s former home, Historic Crew Stadium, since it opened in 1999. The 2021 OHSAA soccer state championship games will be played November 12 and 13.
“We are very thankful for the partnership with the Crew SC and their commitment to high school soccer in Ohio,” said Doug Ute, OHSAA Executive Director. “We are so excited for the schools and communities to conclude their season and play for a state championship at this amazing new venue. We watched as it was being built and hoped that we would have a chance to play our state championship games there.”
At 225 feet wide by 360 feet long, the surface of the pitch at Lower.com Field sits 22 feet below the concourse level. The SubAir system used in the pitch allows it to recover faster from adverse weather conditions, as it can increase the temperature of the pitch root zone by up to 28 degrees, allowing for events played in cold conditions to occur with less buildup that normally might affect the flow of the game. Additionally, the SubAir system can drain water from the pitch in three minutes, while gravity systems usually used in stadiums can take up to 60 minutes.
The Nordecke, the stadium’s supporters’ section, has a 37-degree rake – the steepest in Major League Soccer – and has a capacity for 3,364 supporters, making it the second-largest supporters’ section in MLS.
The Scioto Valley Conference and Southern Ohio Conference have set dates for the fall sports previews they offer.
For the SVC, that involves only Volleyball at Southeastern High School. This exhibition, involving four abbreviated matches, will be held Saturday, August 14th beginning at 2pm.
The SOC will conduct Boys Soccer at New Boston High School on Friday, August 13th. The Girls Soccer Preview will not be held, due to host site Portsmouth West still in the process of installing their new artificial turf. That according SOC Secretary/Treasurer Dave Stamm.
The SOC Volleyball Preview will be Saturday, August 14th at South Webster High School.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that he will sign a new Ohio Department of Health order that permits contact sports, including the fall sports of field hockey, soccer and football, to move forward with games against other schools. The Governor confirmed support for Ohio’s coaches to inspire their student-athletes to continue following safety precautions so that all sports can be played.
Field hockey, soccer and football now join the OHSAA’s previously approved fall sports of girls and boys golf, girls tennis, girls volleyball, and girls and boys cross country. With the majority of high schools in Ohio wanting to play sports this fall, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has been working with the Governor’s Office and the Ohio Department of Health toward a new health order that contains modifications from previous orders.
“I hope that the desire to have a season will inspire our young people, our athletes, our student-athletes, 24/7 to be as careful as they can,” said Governor DeWine during his press conference Tuesday. “I hope also that our coaches will use this an opportunity to focus on helping these young people understand what really is at stake. If they are going to be able to play, that they are going to have to do everything they can to keep COVID out of their team.”
“The OHSAA is moving forward because we want kids to have an opportunity to participate, and the Governor’s Office is providing that opportunity and a chance,” said Bob Goldring, OHSAA Interim Executive Director. “So for that we are most appreciative. It’s important to remember that our student-athletes have been practicing and training with others for weeks and even months, and it has gone well. So, we believe they deserve the chance to move forward, and that the high school space is also different than the collegiate space.”
The OHSAA staff has developed sport-specific modifications and recommendations for schools when conducting interscholastic competition. Links to these sport-specific documents were originally included in the July 22 memo when we released the Return to Play Recommendations document. Links to updated sport-specific requirements, modifications and recommendations are posted at: https://ohsaa.org/Home/OHSAA-COVID-19-Correspondence
“COVID-19 certainly has created a risk factor, and that is something on which each family has to decide for their student, and each local school district has to make decisions on moving forward based on all the information they have been presented,” Goldring continued. “But we also believe our student-athletes, coaches and school administrators – in education-based programs – are suited to be the best advocates for safety, strongly promoting and following mandates and recommendations to wear facial coverings, stay socially distanced and so forth. Our coaches, especially, are role models to so many of our student-athletes. So hopefully our student-athletes will follow their lead and guidance, especially when they talk to students about what to consider away from school.”
“The driving force that will inspire our young men, our young women, to make the right decisions in their lives 24/7 that will inspire them to have the best chance they can to play their sport,” DeWine continued. “To the coaches, you, in a normal year, inspire, you mentor, you instruct, you instill discipline and self-discipline in your student-athletes. For all of that, we are very grateful for what you do. You make a lot of sacrifices, work long hours and you inspire our kids. We thank you very much for that. But this year, it’s going to take more. It’s going to be inspiring them in regards to the goal of keeping COVID out of their team.”
OHSAA fall sports seasons as scheduled to begin as follows:
Friday, Aug. 21:soccer and field hockey
Monday, Aug. 24: volleyball, cross country and football
Note: golf and girls tennis seasons have already started
COVID-19 General Guidance (Including Mandates and Recommended Best Practices)
As Governor DeWine also noted, the Governor’s Office and Department of Health are close to finalizing a new Health Director’s Order. With that comes two separate mandates and recommended best practices documents for schools to follow for competitions, and the OHSAA could issue consequences for the violation of these requirements as prescribed in Bylaw 11, Penalties. The mandates and recommended best practices are related to many of the same mandates and protocols already in place for many other sectors as they relate to symptom assessments; facial coverings; social distancing; cleaning and sanitizing, and confirmed COVID-19 cases/exposure to the virus. The final versions of those two documents will be sent to schools on Wednesday.
The Governor understands that interscholastic sports are different than other forms of competition because we are education-based and are able to implement best safety practices and have structure in place for dealing with COVID-19 restrictions. So, if we want our students to have the privilege of competing in interscholastic athletics, it’s going to be up to all of us to make sure all mandates and protocols are being followed. We all need to be diligent and be disciplined.
Capacity Limitations/Students Dressing for Contests Limitations/Bands Restrictions
Spectator capacity for our events will be limited, with the specific details to be listed in the guidance pieces. As Governor DeWine mentioned today, an emphasis will be on allowing families and loved ones to see students participate. In addition, OHSAA requirements, based on guidance from the Governor’s Office, is for schools to limit the number of players dressing for contests. The limits are 60 in football; 22 in soccer and field hockey, and 15 in volleyball. In addition, the OHSAA, based on guidance from the Governor’s Office, is limiting marching and/or pep bands to performing only at home contests.
Questions and Answers on Why Are We Moving Forward
Originally developed as part of the July 31 Administrator Update when the OHSAA affirmed its position of starting our practices as planned, the OHSAA has updated a series of questions and answers related to why we are moving forward with our seasons. All scenarios have been discussed and, in making its decision, the OHSAA has had great collaboration with the Governor’s Office; Ohio Department of Health; the National Federation of State High School Associations; our colleagues at other state high school athletics/activities associations; members of the OHSAA’s Joint Advisory Committee on Sports Medicine, and members of the Governor’s Sports League Advisory Group. A series of questions and answers are posted at: https://ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows.net/files/Sports/2020/OHSAAReturnToPlayQA.pdf
Clarity on “Spring Seasons”
As Governor DeWine noted today, the OHSAA is prepared to remove the impediments in our bylaws and regulations that would otherwise preclude schools from playing fall sports in the spring. In other words, schools that have opted out of fall sports participation due to the pandemic – meaning the school has not participated in fall sports during the currently defined fall season – will have an opportunity to play their sports in the spring. However, a task force will be needed to work with our staff to create certain parameters to see what those spring sports opportunities look like. As the pandemic has proved, this is an evolving situation, so more details will be shared with the membership when appropriate.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association released a memo to administrators via twitter Friday to push ahead with practices for fall sports beginning Saturday, August 1st.
That means low/non‐contact sports and contact sports will be permitted to begin official practices tomorrow (August 1) as had been previously announced. Additional details on the fall sports seasons are below.
“It is important to keep athletic activity moving forward,” said Dan Leffingwell, president of the OHSAA Board of Directors and superintendent of the Noble Local Schools in Sarahsville. “And with that, we believe our member schools provide our student‐athletes with the safest possible environment to return to play and that our school programs are the best avenue to help students learn lifelong lessons and provide social, emotional and physical benefits that other programs cannot. Moving forward allows those students to continue to be engaged with their school coaches and teammates. Membership data also supports this decision.
“If we were to delay, our students will find opportunities to compete in sports through non‐school programs that may not be focused on safety and are not education‐based,” Leffingwell said. “Should data on COVID‐19 change and/or the Governor’s Office makes changes to our plan, we have flexibility that would allow us to look at implementing other models for our seasons.” Low/Non‐Contact Sports (Golf, Girls Tennis, Volleyball)
Official practices may begin on Saturday, August 1st.
School vs. school scrimmages and/or contests will follow per their normal OHSAA permissible dates and regulations.
Golf – 1 scrimmage permitted any time during the season; first contest August 5th
Girls Tennis – 1 scrimmage permitted after practice begins and prior to first match; first contest August 7th
Volleyball – 5 scrimmages and 1 preview permitted after practice begins; first contest August 21st
FOOTBALL:
Official practices begin on Saturday August 1st with the normal acclimatization period in place.
No school vs. school scrimmages are permitted
School vs school contest will follow their normal OHSAA permissible dates and regulations with a target date of the week of Monday, August 24th (Note: This sate is subject to change and subject to the approval from the Governor’s Office/Ohio Department of Health and with the stipulation that COVID-19 testing will not be required).
OTHER CONTACT SPORTS (SOCCER, FIELD HOCKEY, CROSS COUNTRY):
Practices will begin on Saturday August 1st with the normal acclimatization period in place for cross country.
No school vs. school scrimmages are permitted in soccer or field hockey
School vs school contest will follow their normal OHSAA permissible dates and regulations with a target date of the week of Friday, August 21st, for soccer and field hockey and Monday, August 24th for cross country. (Note: This sate is subject to change and subject to the approval from the Governor’s Office/Ohio Department of Health and with the stipulation that COVID-19 testing will not be required).
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
If contact sports are not approved for school vs. school competition by Friday, September 4th, fall contact sports and remaining winter and spring sports will move to a condensed schedule that will take place between mid-December and the end of June. Fall non-contact sports would move forward as scheduled.
If the fall seasons begin and , for some reason, are stopped but then resume, the OHSAA has plans to move to a modified fall sports season.
If contact sports are approved for school vs. school competition, the OHSAA is prepared to set COVID-19-related requirements for schools to follow for competitions as requested by the Governor’s Office. The OHSAA will govern and issue consequences for the violation of these requirements as prescribed in OHSAA Bylaw 11, Penalties.
Conversations with the Governor’s Office/Ohio Department of Health continue regarding the status of field hockey and/or cross country being placed into the low/non-contact category. The membership will be updated if that changes for either or both sports.
The OHSAA continues with conversations with the Governor’s Office on its plans to ensure we are in concert.
The Wheelersburg defense celebrates stopping Minford’s two-point conversion to seal an overtime victory in October 2019.
