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The Wyoming Valley Conference will begin practices Friday for winter sports, but not all schools plan on starting on time and one will not participate at all because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
				MMI Prep will not field boys and girls basketball teams due to COVID-19 concerns. The school does not have wrestling and swimming teams. MMI Prep also canceled fall sports, the only WVC school to do so.
				Wilkes-Barre Area will start a week late. Tunkhannock and Wyoming Area will start on Dec. 1, while Crestwood won&rsquo;t begin winter sports practices until Dec. 14.
				The Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association &mdash; often referred to as the Lackawanna League &mdash; will get even a later start. The LIAA school superintendents voted 20-3 on Thursday to push back winter sports until Dec. 4.
				Hazleton Area athletic director Fred Barletta, who is the president of the WVC athletic directors association, said the WVC athletic directors voted unanimously last week to go ahead with the Friday start date. He added it would be up to each school district to decide whether to begin on that date.
				&ldquo;The conference said they are allowing it as a conference,&rdquo; Barletta said, &ldquo;but the ultimate jurisdiction is with each school district in what they want to do.&rdquo;
				The late start by the four WVC schools won&rsquo;t affect the WVC boys and girls basketball schedules too much. The WVC basketball season starts Jan. 2 and only Crestwood might have to reschedule one game each for its boys and girls teams. However, those four teams will lose non-WVC games unless they are rescheduled.
				The wrestling and swimming schedules will have to be adjusted, as the first play date in the PIAA calendar is Dec. 11.
				The PIAA requires 15 practices before playing a game. Scrimmages are considered a practice. Teams can not practice for more than six consecutive days without having a day off.
				Wilkes-Barre Area would be able to play Dec. 14 if it meets the PIAA requirements and practices six consecutive days twice. Tunkhannock and Wyoming Area could conceivable play Dec. 18. The LIAA could start playing just before Christmas. Crestwood would have to wait until just after New Year&rsquo;s Day.
				The LIAA joined a few other leagues in the state which have pushed back the start of winter sports. The Northern Tier League, which includes former WVC member Northwest, will start practices Dec. 7. The Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference, which is in the southwestern part of the state, will begin practices Dec. 14.
				Cathedral Prep receives forfeit
				Erie Cathedral Prep hasn&rsquo;t played a football game since Nov. 6 yet will play for the PIAA Class 5A state championship next weekend. Upper Dublin, Prep&rsquo;s scheduled opponent for Friday, informed the PIAA on Thursday it will be unable to play due to COVID-19 concerns.
				Prep received a forfeit victory over District 2&rsquo;s Wyoming Valley West last Friday when the Spartans had a COVID-19 situation.
				The forfeit is the fifth in the PIAA football playoffs.
				Erie McDowell was awarded a forfeit win over Pittsburgh Central Catholic in a Class 6A quarterfinal game last weekend. McDowell also won via forfeit over Erie in the District 10 championship game. which was considered a PIAA first-round state game.
				Warwick had to forfeit its Class 5A quarterfinal game against Governor Mifflin last weekend end.
				There has been one forfeit each in boys soccer, field hockey and girls volleyball in the state playoffs.

Some Wyoming Valley Conference schools push back start of winter sports schedule