They can play: IHSAA, IGHSAU approves summer baseball, softball for June 1 return

The Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released a joint statement on Wednesday afternoon approving the start of summer baseball and softball on June 1.

Games can be played as early as Monday, June 15 and fans will be permitted at games.

The IGHSAU Board of Directors and IHSAA Board of Control met after Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds approved summer athletic seasons in Iowa and both groups voted to approve the 2020 season resuming under Iowa Department of Education guidelines.

The Department of Education released guidance for summer sports and use of school facilities shortly after Gov. Reynolds' press conference Wednesday morning. The guidelines include encouraging social distancing and hygiene during practices and games, closes concession stands and encourages fans to bring their own seat and keep their distance from each other. More sport-specific detail will be coming early next week.

“We trust that our administrators, coaches, umpires and fans will responsibly follow the guidelines in place to keep themselves and each other safe. This is terrific news and is a step toward getting our student-athletes reconnected to the activities that mean so much to them," IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said.

The original first practice dates were May 4 for softball and May 18 for baseball.

“The guidelines laid out by the Department of Education and the Department of Public Health will enable us to safely move forward with a softball season this summer,” IGHSAU executive director Jean Berger said. “We are grateful for their leadership and support.

“We know the games will have different circumstances and that we will all have to work together to keep everyone safe, but we are confident that we are up to this challenge.”

Coach-athlete contact for all in-person, out-of-season sports is suspended until July 1.