The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has announced as of Nov. 16, it will postpone the release of updated youth sports guidance that was set to be announced in the coming weeks.

In a press conference this Tuesday, California Governor Galvin Newsom said that due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, the state government would roll back many of the re-openings that had or were set to take effect. Among the things affected, youth sports are now forced to halt their plan to begin playing games for the first time this school year.

In a tweet, CIF said, “the current guidance remains in effect, and CIF competitions are not allowed until new guidance is provided.” This means the current guidance for California school athletics will continue to take place. The current requirements include non-contact practices with social distancing and masks, as well as games played against other schools being canceled until the new guidelines were to take effect.

The delay in the updated guidelines increases safety from COVID-19 but puts added stress on athletes planning on playing sports this year in hopes of getting scouted and possibly playing in college. Junior and Tamalpais High School boys varsity volleyball captain Lourenco Pereira said, “It makes it difficult to put out your athletic ability and … push through a lot of social and academic goals. I don’t feel like having games or a season is a bad idea. As long as safety guidelines are followed I think [the plan to begin games] should continue.”

Currently, it’s unclear when or if the guidelines will be changed and competitions will resume.