Basketball and wrestling seasons are just around the corner, though they were originally slated to begin this week. The Montana High School Association (MHSA) pushed back the start of winter sports until December 7th, in an effort to allow the state to get a handle on the increasing number of Covid-19 cases across the state. While it does not appear that case numbers will be decreasing any time soon, plans are still being made for the start of winter sports seasons. The first competition for winter sports will be held on January 2nd.
The MHSA has issued guidelines regarding competition for both basketball and wrestling. Most notably will the elimination of multi-team events, which means there will be no annual pre-season tournament for basketball and a dramatically different look to the wrestling program, which generally sees our wrestlers attending large tournaments every weekend.
Competitions for wrestling and basketball traditionally begin the second week of December. The change in competition start dates results in nearly four weeks of lost competition time. As a result, our winter regular seasons will be crammed into a six-week time period. The MHSA has allowed for the cancelation of non-conference games, but for the Pioneers basketball team, this still results in a 14 game season to be played. This means the Pioneers will take to the court 3 times/week for most of their regular season.
This will also force our wrestlers to find several middle of the week dual opportunities. Last year, the member schools vote to create two “super-divisions”, which due to the geographical distances between teams, created challenges for our teams to be able to wrestle everyone in their division before the divisional tournament. The limitations on tournaments virtually guarantees that our wrestlers will be limited to competitions close to home, losing the opportunity to face opponents they will face in the post-season.
Wrestlers will be competing primarily in “duals”, which pits the Big Sandy/Fort Benton team against only one other team. The drawback from a competition standpoint is that Class C teams often have only one wrestler per weight class, leading to very limited opportunities for competition. Wrestlers are now limited to only two matches per day and wrestlers will be required to wear different singlets for each match.
Basketball games will not seem terribly different to fans, with the exception of mask requirements. Attendance at basketball may become limited, as we are required by the Chouteau County Health Department to limit fan capacity at indoor events. This has not been an issue with volleyball and junior high basketball, but the popularity of varsity basketball may require attendance restrictions.
As with all of our indoors events this year, masks are required at all times, per the governor’s mask mandate. Additional spectator changes include the requirement of elementary students to stay in the gym during the game and visit the concession stand with an adult. Contact information will again be collected for all fans in the event of a competition-related outbreak
