The Alaska School Activities Association, the governing body for high school extra-curricular activities, in response to questions dealing with coaches/sponsors working with students have attempted to clarify the current mandates regarding “contact” and “open facility” policies.
Billy Strickland, ASAA Executive Director, released a statement to assist coaches and students with the guidelines.
“The ASAA “out of season” contact and “open facility” policies do allow for coaches to work
with students year around on a limited bases for purposes of conditioning and individual
instruction. Additionally, the “out of season” contact restrictions are suspended each year from
May 20 to July 31. As ASAA wants to bring these policies into alignment with the State of
Alaska Health Mandates, THIS IS NO LONGER THE CASE.”
“As of April 10, 2020, ASAA is prohibiting all out of season contact, including “open
facility”. This also prohibits the use of school facilities and coaches from organizing or
directing workouts and practices. This is in response to the State of Alaska’s Health Mandate
13 and is in effective immediately.”
ASAA Bylaw: Article 7, Section 6
Until further notice, all ASAA Activities are confined to their seasons as defined by the ASAA Article 7 Section 6 Bylaw, which reads in part (emphasis added).
C. Definition of Season – For an activity that is confined to a season, the season is
established by the Board of Directors and may begin with the first day of practice and
end at the conclusion of the state championship event.
D. Penalty: The following penalties assume that a school is in good standing and has not
been warned or is not under other penalty at the given time. A school under warning or
other penalty status may be assessed additional penalties than those listed below, up to
and including suspension from the Association.
Out-of-Season Practice/Play:
1. First Offense: School receives warning and the head coach receives a suspension of
games equaling the number of days of the violation. If Association determines that the
violation involved intentional conduct by a school representative, probation for one
school year and the head coach receives a game suspension for three times the length
of the infraction.
2. Second Offense: The head coach receives a suspension for one school year and the
school will receive a fine of $200 minimum.
According to Strickland, the ASAA Executive Board will meet in the coming weeks to discuss policies for summer activities, along with academic eligibility concerns for Fall 2020 that have been expressed by
member schools and families. As a reminder, the Board has already announced the cancellation of all 2020 spring events, championships, regular season contest and practices. Therefore, no ASAA activity should consider itself “in season” until further notice.
ASAA Response To Frequently Asked Questions
The following are frequently asked questions relating to ASAA’s policies regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.
1. Q. May coaches organize “voluntary” or “optional” practices/tryouts during this
cancellation period?
A. No, coaches are not able to work directly with students during this cancellation period. This
includes but is not limited to the use of platforms such as Zoom to conduct workouts. Coaches
may not be involved in circumventing this policy.
2. Q. Does the cancellation period apply to off-season fall and winter activities?
A. All ASAA sports and activities fall under this guidance. There is to be no practice or
gatherings for any ASAA sports or activities until further notice.
3. Q. May schools participate in contests/events during this cancellation period?
A. No, the cancellation period for practices and contests/events applies to all ASAA member
schools, regardless of where the practice or contest/event occurs.
4. Q. May groups of students gather for workouts?
A. While the ASAA encourages students to stay active, we discourage groups of students from
getting together in alignment with local, state and federal social distancing guidelines.
5. Q. Does this cancellation period apply to public schools only?
A. The cancellation period applies to all ASAA member districts, schools, public and private, in
all ASAA-sanctioned activities.
6. Q. May coaches communicate with students/athletes?
A. Coaches can communicate with students in accordance with local school district policy, but
not organize or participate in workouts. We encourage coaches to provide support to students
during this stressful time. Coaches may send out individual workout plans, but not with the
intent of having them done in a group setting.
7. Q. May students or coaches access school facilities during this cancellation period?
A. During this moratorium-like cancellation period, there shall be no high school facility usage
by activity/athletic staff and students/teams. Field maintenance is allowed.
8. Q. Will 2019-20 ASAA State Championships that have been cancelled be rescheduled?
A. No, cancelled 2019-20 ASAA State Championships will not be rescheduled.