Several times in this column the past three years, the NFHS has shared concerns about the declining number of officials for high school sports. Last fall, in fact, the headline stated that the officiating shortage had reached a crisis level across the country. A recent survey now provides solid proof for those concerns.
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The much-anticipated changes to the fundamental structure of college sports occurred last week when the NCAA suspended its longstanding amateur rules to allow college athletes to monetize their success and profit from their own Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
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By Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff, NFHS Executive Director
Since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down high school sports and performing arts last March, we have been looking forward to that day when normalcy returns. While there are challenging days ahead, the turning of the calendar to 2021 and the approval of vaccines provide the first ray of sunshine in 10 months.
Although it may be summer or fall before anything resembling nationwide normalcy occurs, we believe there will be a day when education-based activities programs return to their previous form.
There is a troublesome issue on the horizon, however, that if not addressed appropriately could have a longer-term negative impact on education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts than the terrible, but more temporary, impact of any novel coronavirus.