Desert Empire League shortens winter season, modifies format for basketball and soccer

Due to the ongoing pandemic the Desert Empire League has voted to modify their format for this winter sports season.

All 6 schools - Palm Desert, Palm Springs, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage, Shadow Hills and Xavier Prep - basketball and soccer varsity programs will play 10 games, opposed to the originally scheduled 15.

Instead of playing each team three times, they will only play twice. Any additional games beyond that are welcomed but won't count towards determining a league champion.

Palm Springs principal and former athletic director told Sports Director Blake Arthur that this decision to forgo the third round of league games was made because there are already too that need to be made up.

Last week, we talked to Rancho Mirage athletic director Chris Calderwood about the difficulty of playing games during these times.

It's simply not feasible to expect a full 15-game schedule to finish given the current situation with COVID surging.

This move by the DEL comes after the DVL modified their league format as well.

Stay with KESQ News Channel 3 for continuing coverage of local high school sports throughout the season.