The start of the high school sports season in California will be delayed until December or January, the California Interscholastic Federation announced Monday.

In releasing a new sports calendar, the state’s governing body for high school sports might be giving the state’s more than 800,000 athletes their best opportunity to have a sports season in the 2020-21 school year. With a summer surge in coronavirus, most California public and private schools plan to begin the academic year with online classes.

“This is the best possible plan we have with what’s going on to give students an opportunity to participate,” said Vicky Lagos, the Los Angeles City Section commissioner. “There are going to be issues in terms of facilities and multiple-sport athletes, but this is the best scenario for the most people. I have confidence the schools and coaches will work it out among themselves. My take from coaches is they want the opportunity to participate and be with the kids.”

Each of the 10 sections will release their own schedules built around the CIF calendar.

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