Canadian wildfires are having an impact on how Minnesota high schools start practice for a number of sports this month, including football. The Minnesota State High School Leagues has issued a series of guidelines for schools to take into consideration, according to a report by KSTP.
In Minnesota, wildfire smoke has been causing unhealthy air for much of the state while others are still being impacted by it further south. Fall sports who practice outside include football, soccer, cross country and girls tennis.
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There is an air quality index that includes a red zone, which means it is unhealthy for everyone to be outside practicing for even a handful of minutes. In fact, the purple zone means all activities should be moved indoors, postponed or cancelled all together.
"We stick to what the polices say and will be active in monitoring those changes," said Harding High School athletic director Otto Kraus, "and do the best we can do to give kids a great experience and keep safety at the forefront."
Erich Martens, the MSHSL Executive Director, said that "schools are doing a great job of postponing or changing times of practices or even moving them indoors when that air quality index gets too high and conditions are not good for great exertion."
The first official date for Minnesota high school football games is August 28. For cross country, the first date for meets is August 24 while girls tennis can begin holding meets August 14.
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