Spring sports set to begin March 28 in Connecticut

The Canton High softball field sits quietly last spring. It should be busy this spring with the CIAC giving the go-ahead to spring sports on Thursday.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) released their 2021 spring sports plan and it is a go for all of the traditional spring sports in Connecticut with some mitigation strategies to help keep athletes and coaches from being infected with the COVID-19 virus.

Masks won’t be required on the field for the athletes but they will be required on the sidelines and dugouts. Only in boys volleyball, which is played inside, will players be required to wear a mask – similar to what girls volleyball players did last fall. Umpires in baseball and softball will be wearing masks along with officials in other sports. Coaches will be required to have their masks on.

Thanks to the pandemic sweeping across the nation last March, there were no spring sports of any kind in Connecticut in 2020 — not even a single practice.

Practice begins on March 28 with games beginning on April 10. Baseball pitchers and catchers can begin workouts on March 20. The CIAC plans to run state tournaments in all sports – the first since last February when the 2020 CIAC wrestling tournaments were completed.

The CIAC’s plan includes mitigation strategies for baseball, softball, track and field, lacrosse, boys volleyball and golf.