The Sac-Joaquin Section has granted individual leagues the ability to create their own schedule for potential sports seasons as long as their county is in the accepted color tier. If in the appropriate tier for the risk level of each individual sport, practice and competitions could resume on Feb. 1 with the last possible competition occurring by June 12, according to CIF guidelines.

Cross country is an exception to this rule, with an early start date of Jan. 25, and the first CIF-sanctioned sporting event in the area since the beginning of the pandemic occurred on this date in El Dorado County. Football is an exception to the latter end of the rule, with a last competition date of April 17, in order to give athletes time to recover and prepare for the 2021 fall season.

Athletic director Malaya Cabrera explains that sports seasons for Rio students will mostly be determined by the San Juan Unified School District and Capital Athletic League.

“With the current situation of Covid-19 the decisions are made through the health county department, then CIF, then ultimately, the districts will make the decision for the sports participation within their district,” Cabrera said.

With the stay-at-home order lifted and Sacramento in the widespread-purple tier, a few outdoor, low-contact sports could start on Feb. 1 in addition to cross country, including golf, swim, dive, tennis and track and field. Once Sacramento County reaches the red tier, baseball, softball, field hockey and girls lacrosse would be able to take to the field as well.

The cross country team has been practicing five days a week since Jan. 25 and has their first league meet scheduled for Feb. 13. Other sports await news from a meeting with the athletic director to return to play.