Where local high school sports stand right now

High school sports competitions officially return Friday for one local district, but what about all the other schools?

"I've never seen kids so excited to be out for cross country," Coachella Valley High School Cross Country Coach Gil Contreras laughed.

Reason being, cross country is the only local high school sport allowed to compete right now, during "Season 1", under the purple tier.

High School sports allowed in purple tier:

• CIF Season 1 (January-April): cross country, skiing/snowboarding
• CIF Season 2 (March-June): golf, swimming/diving, tennis, track & field

Desert Sands Unified School district announced the return of cross country competitions this past weekend. The first meet will be between Shadow Hills and Indio at 3:15 p.m. Friday, February 12. News Channel 3 will have LIVE coverage!

“Yes, it’s cross country that’s starting, but we’re trying to open doors for everybody, so if we can do this right, make it work, keep kids safe… hey! It’s all going to get better from here!” Shadow Hills Cross Country Coach Richie DeTamble said.

 Indio’s Athletic Director Ron Shipley said it will be a trial run.

“We’re keeping this kind of small, it won’t be a full race, so we’re going to have the time to look back on it and see, what worked, maybe how can we improve things,” said Shipley.

As for the other school districts, Coachella Valley Unified is set to begin athletic conditioning again next week, that’s as far as the plan goes for now. 

“It’s part of high school. It’s part of the growing experience, you know, you get to be with your friends, you get to experience things, go travel and stuff, and for a lot of our kids on this side of the valley, that’s an outlet for them to experience the world,” Contreras said.

Palm Springs High School’s athletic director tweeted a picture saying cross country is back. He said he expects practices to begin next week and will have more details after a meeting on Tuesday.

A spokesperson from Palm Springs Unified tells News Channel 3 that there is a plan for competition, stating "Initial competitions will commence with PSUSD teams only before engaging in inter-district competition at a date to be determined."

Stay with News Channel 3 for the latest updates on the return of high school sports!