The damage left behind by Hurricane Helene has kept many fall sports teams in western North Carolina from competing for the better part of two weeks, and now the N.C. High School Athletic Association is hoping to give schools a chance to make up at least some missed games.

On Wednesday morning, the NCHSAA announced changes to the fall sports calendar, extending the regular season.

The football regular season will be extended by one week, meaning the regular season will end on Nov. 9 and playoff brackets will be released on Nov. 10.

The football playoffs will begin with the first round on Nov. 15, with the following rounds being played each Friday night. State championships will be played on Friday, Dec. 20, and Saturday, Dec. 21.

Here are other changes made to the fall sports calendar:

Girls Individual Tennis

• Reporting deadline: October 14, 11:59 p.m. (revised from 3 p.m. to allow for an extra day of competition)
• Regionals: October 18-19
• State Championships: October 25-26

Girls Dual-Team Tennis

• Reporting deadline: October 17, 11:59 p.m. (revised from October 10)
• Seeding: October 18
• First Round: October 21
• Second Round: October 23
• Third Round: October 28
• Fourth Round: October 30
• Regionals: November 5
• State Championships: November 9

Volleyball

Effective immediately, the weekly limitation is modified to allow affected schools to make up multiple postponed matches, not to exceed eight in a week. No change was made to the daily limitation.

• Reporting deadline: October 19, 11:59 p.m. (revised from October 16)
• Seeding: October 20 (Sunday, after 1 p.m.)
• First Round: October 22
• Second Round: October 24
• Third Round: October 26
• Fourth Round: October 29
• Regionals: October 31
• State Championships: November 2

Cross Country

• Reporting deadline: October 22, 11:59 p.m. (revised from October 19)
• Regionals: October 26
• State Championships: November 2

Boys Soccer

Effective immediately, the weekly limitation is modified to allow affected schools to make up multiple postponed matches, not to exceed four in a week. No change was made to the daily limitation.

• Reporting deadline: November 6, 11:59 p.m. (revised from October 31)
• Seeding: November 7
• First round: November 9
• Second Round: November 12
• Third Round: November 14
• Fourth Round: November 16
• Regionals: November 19
• State Championships: November 22-23

Girls Golf

The minimum number of nine-hole scores required to qualify for the Regional Championships was revised from five to three.

• No calendar changes

Cheerleading

• No calendar changes

Football

Effective immediately, a minimum of three calendar days (72 hours) must occur in between contests.

• Reporting deadline: November 9, 11:59 p.m. (revised from November 1)
• Seeding: November 10 (Sunday, after 1 p.m.)
• First round: November 15
• Second round: November 22
• Third round: November 29
• Fourth round: December 6
• Regionals: December 13
• State Championships: December 20-21

Special Provision

The Board approved one (1) additional contest for all sports with a season limit. To exceed the season limit of contests, the following conditions must be met:

• Prior approval from NCHSAA
• The contest cannot exceed the daily or weekly limitations
• The contest must exceed the season limit for both schools
• The contest MUST NOT be entered into MaxPreps

While school remains out of session in many of the hardest hit areas, some districts are allowing athletic teams to resume practices and games as soon as this week.

“Changes to the fall calendar are difficult as well as complex but necessary,” said NCHSAA President Dr. Stephen Gainey and NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker in a joint statement. “Keeping our student-athletes safe as we try to minimize risk of injury was central to any decisions made. We commend the work of the NCHSAA staff in its research, the Board of Directors in making time to consider these changes and the willingness of our host partners to accommodate any changes and make their venues available.”

The NCHSAA said last week was too soon for a decision to be made. The association spent the week communicating with schools affected by the storm to determine the best path forward. On Monday, the association announced it would provide details about the fall sports calendar on Wednesday following a meeting of the board.

Hurricane Helene caused historic flooding through the mountains of North Carolina. More than 100 people have been confirmed dead. Several schools are scheduled to be closed through the week of Oct. 7, and some communities still lack electricity and running water. There are also numerous roads that have been damaged or washed out, making travel difficult.

This is not the first time the NCHSAA has changed the fall sports calendar after a significant hurricane. In 2016 the association extended the season after Hurricane Matthew flooded a large portion of eastern North Carolina. Fall sports were extended again in 2018 when Hurricane Florence devastated the southeast part of the state.

North Carolina is not the only state making changes to the fall sports calendar. Last week, the Georgia High School Association announced it was extending its football season by one week. Georgia’s playoff schedule includes a bye week, so adjusting the calendar was easier for its association.

Earlier this week, the South Carolina High School League also extended its football season by one week, allowing affected schools to reschedule games. The SCHSL said 66 games were postponed or canceled due to the hurricane, including 36 teams who were unable to play for two consecutive weeks.

Source: highschoolot.com