Friday night lights just might come on in Delaware after all
WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Delaware Governor John Carney has announced that fall sports can begin as long as athletes and coaches wear masks during practices and games.
The Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association, or DIAA, must now come up with, and approve, a safety procedure plan, which must then get a thumbs up from the Delaware State Board of Education.
DIAA Executive Director Donna Polk says their impending plan will, hopefully, be ratified during the board's next meeting on September 10.
"We've gotten a lot of petitions from our community in regards to our amended regulations that we put in place in August. So, we'll review those and we will see what the meeting outcome will be next week based on that information," she said.
Meanwhile, the Springfield Township School District in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania officially became the 22nd school district in the Suburban One League to give a green light to fall sports.
Springfield High School Athletic Director, Joe Ferraro, says school officials spent the entire summer preparing for fall sports, but they didn't know for sure it was going to happen until the school board voted 7-2 Tuesday night to allow it, but only under strict CDC health and safety guidelines.
READ MORE: Fall sports get the OK in Springfield Township, Montgomery County
Ferraro says, "The summer blew by and we spent countless hours trying to make sure we put enough safety procedures and policies in place to ensure our kids are going to be safe when they return."
Ferraro says he realizes that a sudden COVID outbreak among athletes and students could bring these plans to a sudden halt.
But for now, he's looking forward to seeing a little football, soccer, and other sports on the campus of Springfield High School.
"I'm ecstatic we're here now and I'm really excited that we might have some Friday nights," he said.
Officials from Springfield High are hoping to play their football season-opener sometime in early October.
