Early Thursday morning, the NDHSAA announced its decision to continue with all fall sports and activities as previously scheduled. The NDHSAA Board of Directors’ vote was unanimous.

Opening practice dates were released for boys soccer (August 3), football (August 10), boys tennis (August 10), Class A girls golf (August 10), cross country (August 10), girls swim and dive (August 17) and volleyball (August 17). September 1 marks the first competition date.

Our Redeemer’s head volleyball coach Kara Nunziato described Thursday’s news as a “sigh of relief.”

“I think I had 10 different parents text me the information from Twitter indicating that fall sports was on,” Nunziato said. “So, Our Redeemer’s is pretty pumped.”

As more local teams prepare for their respective fall seasons, those optimistic feelings are prevalent.

“I can’t wait for all of our athletes to get back to a sense of normalcy,” Bishop Ryan athletic director and head football coach Roger Coleman said.

School boards and local public health units will decide if their respective schools will sponsor sports and activities.

“There’s still a lot of decisions and planning that will have to be done,” Minot High School head football coach Chauncy Hendershot said. “The next big question is, what does our school year look like? That will have a big impact on the athletic season as well. Certainly, some good news today in the prospect that we get to start our season on time.”

Plans, schedules and procedures are subject to modification to current pandemic status. The NDHSAA Board of Directors will continue to review further athletic and activity guidance at upcoming meetings.

Jimmy Lafakis covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JJLII30.