By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Raton Public Schools will begin the school year with an A/B block attendance schedule in a 4-day week with remote learning on Friday.
Students will be placed in two groups to begin the school year with group A students attending in-person classes on Monday and Tuesday while group B students will attend in-person classes on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is being classified as a remote learning day to allow the school to be cleaned and disinfected.
What does all this mean? Details are still being worked on at this time and which students will attend in-person classes when is also in the works. Will students attend classes online when they are not attending in-person classes or will assignments be handed out for when students are not in school? All of these details are still being worked out.
As for sports, the fall will only see cross country, fall golf and volleyball, with golf and CC starting in September and volleyball beginning in October. The second half of the school year will be jammed packed with sports all the way into June.
Coaches will have a difficult time sharing athletes during this shortened season. Football will overlap basketball while baseball overlaps football later in the spring. This will be a more difficult time for small schools where students play multiple sports. There have been several years where basketball has started the season without football players and now this year it will be the other way round.
Stay tuned as schedules are subject to change, as are start dates and even who will be doing what is likely to change.
Below is the full NMAA news release about the upcoming sports seasons.
NEW MEXICO ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION
News Announcement
For Immediate Release
July 15, 2020
2020-2021 AMENDED NMAA SPORTS CALENDAR RELEASED
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In an effort to ensure students have the opportunity to participate in the sports of their choosing during the 2020-2021 school year, the NMAA has created an amended calendar which provides seasons for all 13 sports sanctioned by the Association.
The tentative dates for both the start of the official season and state championship events for each sport are listed below. Please note that these are subject to change due to the ever-evolving coronavirus pandemic.
Sport Start Date State Championships
Cross Country September 14 November 13-14
Golf (Fall Season) September 14 June 21-22
Volleyball October 5 December 4-12
Basketball January 4 March 1-13
Swimming & Diving January 4 March 13 & 20
Spirit TBD March 26-27
Soccer February 15 April 12-17
Football February 22 April 23-24 & 30, May 1 & 8
Wrestling April 5 June 7-12
Baseball April 5 June 21-26
Softball April 5 June 21-26
Golf (Spring Season) April 5 June 21-22
Tennis April 5 June 14-19
Track & Field April 5 June 17-19 & 24-26
A detailed calendar and table of modified athletic events can be accessed from the NMAA website by clicking on the below links:
The NMAA has worked with its membership to create a modified calendar that will allow for all sports to be played in 2020-2021, while also limiting the overlap between each season so that students can still participate in multiple sports.
NMAA Executive Director, Sally Marquez, has also created an informational video that answers numerous questions regarding these changes. This Q & A can be accessed from the below link:
For more information pertaining to this announcement, please contact Dusty Young, NMAA Associate Director, at 505.977.5385.
