Philly Archdiocese Opts Out Of All Fall Sports

PHILADELPHIA — The Archdiocese of Philadelphia Monday announced it is opting out of fall sports this year.

Officials decided not to participate in interscholastic sports in the fall in order to preserve health and safety of those involved.

The move comes just a few days after the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association went against Gov. Tom Wolf's recommendations and voted in favor of allowing fall sports to go on.

All archdiocese school families, administrators, faculty, and staff in the five-county region got a joint letter on fall sports from Sister Maureen Lawrence McDermott, I.H.M. Ph.D., Superintendent for Secondary Schools for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Irene Horstmann Hannan, Chief Executive Officer of Faith in the Future.

As the landscape of the pandemic has shifted over time, we have taken steps to meet continued challenges and communicated with you regularly regarding essential decisions. Our commitment to school safety and clear communication is steadfast.

Leaders from both Faith in the Future and Office of Catholic Education deliberated the PIAA’s announcement while factoring in health and safety preservations, guidelines established by the governor, Department of Health and Department of Education, and maintaining a consistent system-wide approach to decision making.

"We recognize that this news is disappointing to many of our students, families and coaches, particularly our seniors," the Archdiocese said in a statement Monday. "It saddens us greatly as well. We recognize the value of athletics as part of our educational philosophy that seeks to provide for the holistic formation of young men and women of character. This is not the scenario any of us desired. "

The Archdiocese said it is confident that the PIAA will provide alternative solutions for those entities opting out of fall programs in the coming semester.

Schools that have individual fees for athletics will delay them until later in the year. In some schools, there is one combined fee instead of separate athletics, so in those cases the fees remained unchanged. However in the event the Archdiocese is forced to cancel any athletic programs, it will prorate all applicable fees.

"We are grateful to Governor Wolf and the Departments of Health and Education for their sound guidance to school districts throughout the Commonwealth and look forward to working with PIAA regarding possible solutions as we move forward," the Archdiocese said in its statement. "Our greatest degree of gratitude goes to our students, parents, coaches, teachers, staff, and administrators for their continued trust and dedication to the gift of Catholic education."