STORY BY GARV VIRGINKAR, PHOTO BY TOMOKI CHIEN

Student athletes will no longer be able to participate in both school and club sports over the same season, following a decision from the California Interscholastic Federation to re-enact restrictions on participating on both school and club teams. 

The reversal is effective immediately, and comes in light of new guidance from the California Department of Public Health barring athletes from participating in more than one athletic cohort during the same season.

The current ruling returns to pre-2020 policies which did not allow students to play both high school and club sports during the season. The policy was originally changed during the pandemic to allow students to participate in their club sport while school seasons had not officially started. 

If a student has already participated in club sports outside of CIF, their eligibility to play high school sports is not impacted. There are currently no students who have lost eligibility due to the decision, CIF noted. 

CIF did add that if public health guidance changes in the future, the league may amend or revisit the issue. 

Additionally, CIF has extended the waiver filing period for students who transferred to a different school due to financial difficulties resulting from the coronavirus through the end of the 2021 school year. In essence, students will be able to play sports for a different school if they were forced to transfer due to coronavirus-related financial difficulties.