DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado High School Activities Association announced additional changes for winter sports as high school athletes gear up for the start of the season on January 18.

CHSAA said it made additional modifications to make sure its sports comply with current national, state and local health guidelines. CHSAA’s winter season was scheduled to start on January 4 but it was pushed back to January 18 because of the rise in COVID-19 cases in Colorado.

CHSAA is making adjustments to the structure of the sports season including rules on which schools can compete against each other as well as adjusting the number of games teams must play to qualify for state championships.

Basketball

• All Classes: 14-game regular season.
• All Classes: 12-game sub-varsity
• Postseason 1A-3A: 24-team brackets.
• Postseason 4A, 5A: 32-team brackets.
• Masks must be worn during play.
• Players are limited to 76 total quarters in the season, exclusive of overtime and post-season games.
• State Tournament: No consolations in 2021.
• Minimum 7 games played (pending COVID waivers) to qualify for playoffs.
• League champions automatically qualify for the postseason.
• CHSAA Seeding Index will determine at-large qualifiers in each class. These data points will be combined at the end of the season to create an overall ranking. To do this, data from each ranking will be added together, and then divided by four.

Ice Hockey

• 13 game maximum regular season (No individual or team game minimum)
• Schools must play 12 of their 13 regular season games against league opponents
• Only one game against a league opponent will count towards the final league standings (there will be instances in some leagues where certain teams will play one another three times)
• Non-League game must be within geographic region and receive written approval from the CHSAA Assistant Commissioner overseeing Ice Hockey (list of each geographic region will be sent to schools)
• January 18 start of formal practice – January 25 start of competition (No Scrimmages or Foundation Games)
• March 11 end of regular season – Frozen Four TBD location and time – dates subject to change
• 4 team playoff bracket for both 4A and 5A
• State playoff bracket will not be seeded, and matchups will be determined by the Asst. Commissioner overseeing Ice Hockey (1^st Rd league matchups are a possibility)
• Each league will receive one Automatic Qualifier into the postseason
• Each league will have sole responsibility for determining the Auto Qualifier for their league
• New Seeding Formula (MaxPreps, Coaches Poll, RPI) will determine the single At-Large qualifier (Bracket released Friday, March 12)

Skiing

• Changes to the state championship qualification system.

Spirit

• Teams can support their schools without doing anything participatory until the regular season begins on Jan. 18.
• Masks will be worn at all times, except for 2:30 (or 3:00 for Gameday) of performance time at the state competition.
• Teams are encouraged to work in pods or stunt groups to eliminate as much crossover as possible.
• Continue to maintain social distancing during sideline cheer.
• State competition: The competitive performance structure will not change. Things such as warmups, pictures, etc., may be changed due to venue.
• The number of teams permitted to enter the state competition will not change.

Girls Swimming & Diving

• 7 meet maximum regular season plus League (No individual or team minimum meet requirement)
• Schools may only compete against teams within their own league during the regular season.  
  • All Meets must adhere to the local limitations around number of participants allowed indoors
• January 18 start of formal practice – January 25 start of competition (NO Scrimmages or Foundation Meets)
• March 6 end of regular season – March 11-13 State Meet (TBD location and dates subject to change)
• 20 qualifiers per event in each classification for the CHSAA State Meet (Timed Finals)
• State Qualifiers will be based on time from the regular season (Top 20 in each event plus ties)
  • Max four entries per school per event
• Athletes will arrive at established time prior to their event and the pool will be cleared at the conclusion of each event at State due to participant limits indoors

Wrestling

• Regular season: 20 dual maximum. Tris and quads are allowed with a maximum of four teams in attendance.
• Weight certification opens Nov. 1, must be complete prior to competition.
• Regionals: Two-day format, 16-man bracket. The first seven weight classes will compete on the first day. The next seven weight classes will compete on the second day. Wrestlebacks will only happen from third round on.
• The first and second placers will qualify for the state tournament.
• State tournament: Eight-person bracket, full consolation. One-day format.
• Team scores at both regionals and state will score placers 1-4.