Solar eclipse pushes back start of high school sports on Monday
In this image made available by NASA, the International Space Station is silhouetted against the sun during a solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017, as seen from Ross Lake, Northern Cascades National Park in Washington. Credit: AP/Bill Ingalls
The solar eclipse is forcing changes in the high school sports schedule.
On Long Island, about 90% of the sun will be blocked at 3:27 p.m. during Monday's eclipse. Experts have repeatedly warned that people should not look into the sun without special eclipse viewing glasses or they risk damaging their eyes.
In response, public high school sports teams cannot play or practice until 5 p.m. in Nassau County. In Suffolk, games cannot begin until 4:30 p.m. but practice times will be left up to individual districts. Practices typically start after school around 2:30 p.m. and games usually start at either 4 or 5 p.m.
Catholic league practices cannot begin 4 p.m. and games cannot start until 5 p.m., according to Ralph Dalton, the president of boys athletics in the CHSAA.
“We’re moving all of the games ... to avoid the solar eclipse,” said Tom Combs, the executive director of Section XI, which governs Suffolk sports.
Nassau's Section VIII executive director Pat Pizzarelli said some districts are giving students the day off and treating it as a snow day. Others, he said, are planning solar eclipse viewing parties on their fields.
“We’ve been dealing with this since August with the superintendents," Pizzarelli said. "Some school districts are having a two-hour delay for release to go home to avoid the eclipse, and others are having a two-hour early release letting students out of school early.
“We sent out a directive that schools cannot start any events before 5 p.m."
Ralph Dalton, the president for boys athletics in the Nassau-Suffolk Catholic High School Athletic Association said the league plans to put out a statement on Thursday to address the situation. "Athletes cannot go outside until after 4 p.m.," Dalton said, "and no contests can start until 5 p.m."
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
