Just in case

MHSAA has  ‘Epidemic Emergency Plan’ in place as postseasons take flight

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

It was constructed a couple of years ago, tucked safely away and only to be brought out should circumstances require. Well, with the swine flu grabbing headlines throughout the country, circumstances have officially arrived.

With the 2009 fall postseasons already under way — or set to start soon — the Michigan High School Athletic Association recently released its “Epidemic Emergency Plan,” which would be called on should the flu seriously affect any team in the coming weeks.

“Essentially, we put this together in 2007 for whatever could possibly happen, a plan that could address a lot of different things,” said John Johnson, the MHSAA communications director. “Obviously, the health issue of the day is the H1N1
virus. … It got to the point where we were getting so many calls from schools asking how they should handle things should the virus be prevalent, that we decided it was a good time to release this for everyone to know.”

According to the MHSAA press release, teams that are unable to participate in a tournament game or match in the allotted time scheduled for that particular round due to a specific school or district’s decision will be forced to forfeit the contest. The opposing team would then receive an automatic bye and advance to the next round.

“In other words, if a school decides it’s not going to have classes or extracurricular activities on the same day, which is not uncommon, the tournament must still go on,” Johnson explained.

“It’s entirely a local call,” Johnson continued. “Some districts may cancel classes but still allow extracurriculars. In that case, the tournament would continue on without a forfeit and without the need for a bye.”

The decision to implement a forfeit, and subsequent bye for an opposing team, is going to be avoided “as much as possible,” Johnson said. Depending on the sport, the round of the playoffs and the facilities available, the MHSAA will do everything in its power to allow each game to be played.

For instance, if the district volleyball tournament is scheduled for Monday, Thursday and Saturday, and a team falls ill Monday, the rest of that round can be rescheduled as long as no team plays more than one game per day, and as long as the schedule allows the district round to be completed on its scheduled day. However, if the revamped schedule would possibly intrude on the start of regionals, a forfeit would have to take place.

 “If we have to delay that initial game a few days, and it won’t affect the start of the next
round, we will reschedule,” Johnson said. “There’s always some wiggle room. However, if you run into a point where the next round must begin, or for example, where we are using rented facilities that won’t be available beyond what we have scheduled, then a forfeit is unavoidable.”

Johnson said the forfeiture of a state semifinal or final game would be an extreme case, but should a decision have to be made, the MHSAA would look at it on an individual basis.

“Again, the reason for all of this is the safety and well-being of everyone involved,” Johnson added. “You have to be ready and armed with a policy, and that’s what were doing here.”

You can reach Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1038.