Our High School Sports Preview will run August 25th, but a few Reminders First

 

August 11, 2021



Each fall the Blaine County Journal runs a special Fall Sports Preview Section. This year that section will run in the August 25 edition. All fall sports coaches will be emailed a questionnaire regarding their specific team. We will include their responses, rosters and schedules in this edition.

Fall sports practice for high school athletes is set to get underway this Friday, August 13. For junior high athletes the first practice will take place on Monday, August 16.

Chinook, Harlem and Hays/Lodge Pole will field teams in both volleyball and eight-player football. Harlem and Hays/Lodge Pole will also field cross country teams. Turner High School will co-op with Harlem for football and volleyball.

As a reminder, no individual shall play in any association contest until he/she has a minimum of ten (10) days of practice and at least one practice session per day on ten (10) different days (no practice permitted on Sunday), prior to the date of the first allowable game which is August 26 for all sports.

Per the Montana High School Association (MHSA) website the first three days of football practice will be a period of acclimation with no contact and no pads. The only football equipment to be used is shoes and helmets. Non-contact is defined as no student-to-student contact. However, participants may contact dummies/shields held by others.

The MHSA has specifically outline what criteria must be met to count as a practice:

• Practice must be at least one (1) hour long.

• At least one full squad (varsity team/J.V. team/C squad) and their coaching staff must be present.

• The athlete must participate in the entire practice.

• Practice should include the majority of drills and conditioning that are the norm for that team or squad.

• A practice the day of a game does not count (unless an athlete is practicing with another squad that does not have a game that day, i.e. a varsity team member who stays home and practices with the JV team that does not have a game that day).

• Warm-ups or walk-throughs with the team prior to a game does not constitute a practice.

Prior to any student athlete being allowed to participate in a teams practice a sports physical must be completed signed and turned in to the school office. Concussion forms also need to be signed and turned in as well and in addition to other forms the specific school may require.

For information on your school specifically please contact your local school office.

There are limited practices available prior to the first scheduled contest in most cases, so missing any could impact the student athlete early on.

Each off season the MHSA and the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) reviews rules and regulations, seeks input on ways or means to improve the game, or make the game safer for the student athlete.

In some cases conference realignment or school reclassification affect schools directly. This information as well as areas of focus for each sport is available on the MHSA website https://www.mhsa.org/home.

This year specifically Harlem is impacted by reclassification to eight-player football after being in Class B. The Wildcats will still compete in the District 2B and Northern B in all other sports and activities. For football they will now be a member of the Northern C eight-player football division.

This is of note to many fans as the move will allow the old time highway two rivalry between the Chinook Sugarbeeters and the Harlem Wildcats to resume. This years contest will take place in Chinook on Friday, September 10 with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m.

 
 

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