On Nov. 4, Section I officials announced plans to hold modified playoff tournaments for fall sports, releasing its guidelines for regional postseason play that will group teams by both school size and geographic location. The announcement marked the first guidance for the postseason following Section I’s Oct. 26 announcement that some form of regional playoffs would be permitted to occur.
In September, it was decided by New York State Public High School Athletics Association, NYSPHSAA, that although low and medium-risk high school sports would be permitted this fall, coronavirus concerns meant that the statewide playoff format would be abandoned for the time being.
Last week’s announcement by Section I laid out a format for postseason play that was designed to limit travel between different regions of the area, setting up six unique, single-elimination tournaments that will service small and large school groupings in both Southern Westchester and and Putnam-Northern Westchester. Separate tournaments have been set up for schools in both Rockland and Dutchess Counties.
According to the announcement, Rye, New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Harrison and Eastchester will be competing in the large-school Southern Westchester tournaments, while Bronxville, Rye Neck and Tuckahoe will take part in the small-school division.
Under the new guidelines, all fall sports—aside from girls tennis—will have until Nov. 14 to wrap up their regular season campaigns and seeding meetings for the various sports have been scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 15. The following day, the postseason tournaments will commence, starting with field hockey and boys soccer.
The tennis postseason, which began on Nov. 8, will wrap up on Wednesday, after press time.
For local teams, the decision was a welcome one, bringing some sense of normalcy to a time marked by uncertainty, Mamaroneck field hockey coach John Savage said. The Tigers are the top-ranked field hockey team in the section, but even though they won’t be gunning for a Sectional crown, Savage said that the chance to extend the season just a little bit longer is worth it.
“I think this is great for Section I, because this pandemic has hit everyone hard mentally, especially the kids, and I think they needed that release from the fear that they see,” he said. “You see other schools and areas that have shut down, and we told the girls that they are very fortunate.”
Although fall athletes might be getting a proper end to their season, those gearing up for winter sports got a dose of bad news this week, however.
On Nov. 9, Section I executive director Dr. Robert Zayas confirmed that, due to an uptick in coronavirus cases in New York State, high-risk winter sports—including basketball, hockey and wrestling—would not be permitted to begin as scheduled on Nov. 30. Zayas said more information would be released in the coming weeks.
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