On Friday, December 11th NYSPHSAA announced the cancellation of the 2021 winter State Championships and the postponement of all high-risk sports until authorization is granted by state officials. There is no definitive timeline for authorization of high risk sports to resume competition.

The NYSPHSAA officers rendered these decisions with input from the NYSPHSAA membership and the 11 Section Executive Directors.

To view the complete press release on the cancellation of winter championships, click here.

Low/ Moderate risk Fall Season II sports official start date is Monday, March 1st. Sections have the authority to determine a later start date. High risk sports are not permitted until authorization is received from state officials.

Low/ Moderate risk spring sports official start date will be Monday, April 19th. Sections have the authority to determine a later start date. High risk sports are not permitted until authorization is received from state officials.

On Tuesday, November 17th NYSPHSAA released the winter edition of Return to Interscholastic Athletics, a document to help guide schools as they begin winter sports seasons for low risk sports. To view the latest document click here.

Until authorization is granted by state officials, NYSPHSAA member schools are not permitted to participate in sports determined to be high risk by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH).

Low and moderate risk winter sports, approved by NYSDOH in the fall, were permitted to begin on November 30th as previously determined by NYSPHSAA. As always sections can choose a later starting date if they wish.

The NYSPHSAA Executive Committee will meet virtually on Wednesday, February 3rd beginning at 9:00am.

The full list of Scholar-Athlete teams for the fall 2020 season can be found here

The full list of Scholar-Athlete individuals for the fall 2020 season can be found here

On Sunday December 6th we wrapped up our Captains Club series with Omari Pearson of Passion to Purpose. The series ended with a live question and answer session with Omari to talk about all of the workshop videos he produced for the Association.

To view the question and answer session click here.

The complete series of 2020-21 NYSPHSAA Captains Club video workshops, presented by NYSCOPBA, have been released and can been viewed on our YouTube page by clicking here.

Click here to submit for the Winter Community Service Challenge.

NYSPHSAA is now accepting bids to host one State Championship event.

To submit a bid to host this Championship event, please use this link.

The first video, called “The Parent Seat”, includes information on the role of a parent on game day and provides suggestions on how they can cope with the roller coaster of emotions that they will may experience.

The second video, titled “Beyond the Scoreboard”, addresses correcting negative adult fan behavior at high school events.

The last installment of the video series concludes with “A Lasting Relationship,” a video designed to help parents create healthy, life-long relationships with their child through their participation in interscholastic athletics and activities.

All three videos can be found on the NYSPHSAA sportsmanship page by clicking here.

NYSPHSAA reminds you of its partnership with ezSCRN, an application that can help track, collect data, report and communicate both COVID-19 cases as well as traumatic brain injuries.

The ezSCRN app is being offered to NYSPHSAA member schools at a discounted rate. Watch the video below for a brief description of the app and more information.

The Association has launched a web page exclusively for the ezSCRN app. You can find all the answers to your questions there. Plus you can sign up for a demonstration as well.

To visit the ezSCRN page click here.

Grant-funded programs are available at no cost to NYSPHSAA member schools and include Survivor Advocacy speakers, Battle of the Belt competitions, and classroom resources for Health or PE classes. All programs can be conducted virtually or socially distanced in-person. NY SADD has also created a Google Classroom with virtual materials and lesson plans as well as a Back-to-SADD Guide with different activities.

If you are interested in hosting a program for your district or have any questions about these materials, visit the Coaches Care page of the NYSPHSAA website or contact Chris Joyce at cjoyce@nysphsaa.org.

Check out the officials page on nysphsaa.org. It has important information for current officials and information on signing up if you are interested in becoming an official.

Click here to visit the officials page

Don't forget to tell us #MyReasonWhy on social media. Tell us why you participate in sports, after school activities, coaching, officiating or other ways athletics has made a difference in your life.

Access to financial aid is a key factor in whether low-income students, including many of New York’s student athletes, have the opportunity to attend college.

Yet across New York, low-income high school students are more likely than their wealthier peers to attend schools with low rates by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The New York FAFSA Completion Project aims to raise awareness of the importance of completing the FAFSA and provide easily accessible resources to schools so they can help more students through the process, drawing on national research and best practices already being used in New York schools.

Those resources include an interactive data tool that allows users to track the progress of New York high schools, with new FAFSA completion estimates updated weekly and comparisons to similar schools and top performers

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The “3 Steps Every High School Can Take” resource at NYFAFSAChallenge.org encourages schools to:

1. Help their seniors make a plan to complete the FAFSA;

2. Hold a FAFSA completion event; and

3. Set targets and track the data.

At the end of the school year, Ed Trust–NY’s FAFSA Completion Challenge will recognize schools with high completion rates and that show improvement. Twelve awards will be granted to schools across the state. Each award will consist of $750 granted to the winning high schools for the purpose of providing a scholarship to one of its students.

Explore the data, read more about FAFSA completion strategies being used at New York schools, and find additional resources at NYFAFSAChallenge.org.