If there is one season that always seems to go by to fast it is summer, especially if you are a student still attending grade school or junior/senior high school.

The summer swim season is nearly complete, high school teams have completed their summer schedules and gyms across the state are having the floors resurfaced in preparation for the upcoming school season.

Student athletes from Turner High School will once again have the opportunity to co-op with the Harlem Wildcats for volleyball and football this fall and that combination has proven to benefit both schools.

This fall the Chinook Sugarbeeters, Harlem Wildcats and Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds will compete in the realigned Northern C Eight-player Football division. They will be joined by Belt, Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Fort Benton, Rocky Boy and Shelby.

The Chinook Sugarbeeters will add Cross Country this fall with boys and girls being able to compete in the sport for the first time. The Harlem Wildcats and Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds both offer Cross country as well. Volleyball is offered in Chinook, Harlem and Hays/Lodge Pole as well.

The first day of practice for student athletes participating in Volleyball, Football or Cross Country is Friday, August 12. The first day teams are allowed to compete will be Thursday, August 25. The playoffs for Football will begin on October 28-29 with the State Championship on November 18-19. Volleyball will hold its State tournaments in Bozeman, November 10-12 and Cross Country State will be in Missoula Saturday, October 22.

As a reminder to all student athletes wanting to participate in a fall sport to make sure they have had their physical completed, signed and turned into their school office prior to being allowed to participate in their teams first practice. Student athletes are also required to complete a Concussion form as well. The updated 2022-23 pre-participation physical form is available on the MHSA website, https://www.mhsa.org/home, or at their school business office.

Student athletes will not be allowed to participate until all required forms are filled out, signed and turned in. All three sports offered locally require a student athlete to participate in 10 different days of practice before being eligible to compete in game competition. Practicing twice in one day only counts as a single day.

Student handbooks and all other materials that a student athlete may need are also available at the school business office. Updated rule changes for each sport is available on th MHSA website as well.