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A final plan for the 2020-21 public high school athletics schedule has not been set in Virginia, but Virginia High School League (VHSL) staff have now produced a draft calendar, according to a Monday, Aug. 24, VHSL press release.

The VHSL Executive Committee met in a special work session Monday to discuss schedule options for regular season and postseason championships under the Condensed Interscholastic Plan.

This plan is the one the committee agreed to adopt July 27, postponing football and fall sports to spring 2021 and dictating a delayed start to winter and spring sports.

The Aug. 24 release stated that after meeting with coaches, athletic directors/principals and superintendent representatives from the respective regions over the past 10 days, the VHSL staff drafted a working plan “Championships + 1” schedule for the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY2021) Athletic and Academic Activities and presented those findings to the Executive Committee.

“I want to be clear that this work session was not intended to produce a final plan,” VHSL Executive Director, Dr. John W. “Billy” Haun said in the release. “The purpose of the work session was to provide a draft to the Executive Committee for the FY2021 sports and academic season and for the process of building a plan for regular season and postseason. The various staff meetings with coaches, athletic directors, principals and superintendent representatives discussed at length the challenges, including health, safety and financial considerations of implementing any schedule options.”

For fall sports, the draft calendar lists football in spring 2021 as featuring a six-game regular season. The first practice would be allowed Feb. 4 and the first game would be allowed Feb. 22. Region tournament periods would start April 7 with a completion deadline of April 17. The VHSL state semifinals would take place April 24, with the state championship games following May 1.

For winter sports, the draft calendar lists basketball regular seasons as being composed of 14 games. The first practice will be allowed Dec. 7, the first game will be allowed Dec. 21, the regional tournament period start date will be Feb. 8 with a completion deadline of Feb. 13; state semifinals will be Feb. 16; and state finals will be Feb. 20.

For spring sports, the draft calendar lists baseball regular seasons as being composed of 12 games. The first practice will be allowed April 12; the first game will be allowed April 26; the regional tourney period start date will be June 14 with a completion deadline of June 19; state semifinals will be June 22; and state finals will be June 26.