The Hermiston School District has put its fall sports schedule on hold after Tri-Cities’ teams have chosen not to travel to Hermiston nor host Hermiston students on site due to current Washington and Oregon travel advisories.
“We are saddened by this news and the inability of our students to compete with Washington schools,” said District Athletic Director Larry Usher. “We remain hopeful that restrictions may be lifted as COVID numbers continue to drop in our region.”
Hermiston competes in the Mid-Columbia Conference of the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA).
On Jan. 6, the WIAA executive board amended the athletic season schedule, moving traditional fall sports to WIAA Season 1, which will span seven weeks in length, beginning with pre-competition practices on Feb. 1 and ending on March 20. The sports scheduled for this season include cross country, football, golf (alternate), slowpitch softball, girls and 1B/2B boys soccer, girls swim and dive, tennis (alternate) and volleyball.
In the absence of WIAA athletic competitions, Usher said he is researching other opportunities for Hermiston student athletes to compete within the state of Oregon. Oregon Health Authority guidelines currently allow district fall sport participants to compete in slow pitch softball, girls soccer, and cross country.
With the current COVID-19 numbers in Umatilla County, however, students are not yet cleared for volleyball and football competitions. Once the Oregon Health Authority clears athletes to compete, Usher said the district will seek out other opportunities for students to take part in sports.
