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The Alabama High School Athletic Association Central Board of Control approved the Return to Play guidelines Wednesday afternoon. 

With the approval, fall sports will be able to start play on time, with football starting on Aug. 20.

“The purpose of the Return to Play document is to offer AHSAA member schools best practices in order to commence the 2020-21 school year athletic seasons as scheduled and as safely as possible,”  AHSAA Executive Director Steve Savarese said in a press release.

Earlier this summer, the AHSAA announced fall sports could start fall camp a week early due to the cancellation of their spring camp. 

Monday, July 27 is the first day that camp can start. For football, players can wear helmets and shorts, in order to start the acclimation process, while volleyball, cross country and swimming can use the week for tryouts or to also work on the acclimation process and get ready for the 2020 season.

The full Return to Play guidelines will be announced on Thursday at 2 p.m. EST, where Savarese will go into depth about the AHSAA’s plan. He said on Tuesday that there will be some differences this season compared to previous years, including the expansion of the sideline and non-essential people not being allowed onto the field. 

The Florida High School Athletic Association also decided that it would keep the start of its fall seasons the same.

The Georgia High School Association voted on  Monday to delay the start of football season by two weeks. The Mississippi High School Athletic Association has voted to delay its 2020 fall sports schedules.