GAINESVILLE - Amidst nearly a month of indecision, the FHSAA has reversed its stance on a non-public meeting concerning fall sports in anticipation of a August 14 Gainesville meeting of the FHSAA Board of Directors.

After much-ballyhooed previous meetings intent on deciding the fate of high school sports, the FHSAA has twice punted to more meetings at later times with votes of 10-5 for and, a week later, 11-4 against, with regard to the COVID interaction of fall sports.

Friday’s meeting, starting at 10 a.m., at the Best Western Gateway Grand Hotel marks the first in-person gathering of the 16-person board since the COVID-19 outbreak halted high school sports in mid-March. FHSAA had first decided to not Zoom the meeting after nearly 4,000 viewers kept close tabs on the last meeting in anticipation of a decision for fall sports.

A tentative date of August 24 has been set as a start point for fall practices with an August 17 meeting also scheduled for a final look at medical data from the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC). SMAC has already advised the board to detain the start of football and volleyball to later times due to the contact nature of the sport. FHSAA board members and the Task Force set to also determine start times have been trying to absorb as much information from SMAC to make their decision in the previous meetings.

In its prior meeting, SMAC members had backed three primary recommendations by a 10-0 vote: delaying the start of football and volleyball until further notice, conducting standardized questionnaires and temperature screenings prior to participation, and requiring a waiver for students who intend to play.

Football was deemed high-risk because of the "degree of contact and collision," and volleyball because of an "indoor environment with increased aerobic respirations," while other fall sports had an "acceptable low risk."