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Wyoming Valley Conference winter sports teams returned to practice Monday after a three-week shutdown and the loss of more than 200 basketball games, wrestling matches and swimming meets.
				Gov. Tom Wolf suspended scholastic and youth sports from Dec. 12 to 8 a.m. Jan. 4 as part of an effort to curb COVID-19 cases. He announced last week he was lifting the ban, allowing teams to resume practices on Monday.
				The PIAA is requiring all teams to complete four practices after the layoff before holding a scrimmage or a contest. The PIAA also reduced the total number of preseason practices for basketball and wrestling teams from 15 to 10, which can include any held prior to Dec. 12. The PIAA cut the total preseason practices for swimming to five because some schools use off-campus facilities and availability could be an issue.
				The first day for competitions is Friday provided those four practices are completed, although the reboot locally will be minimal with two boys basketball games and two girls basketball games on the schedule. The WVC wrestling season starts Saturday with four matches. There are also three boys basketball games, a girls basketball game and two swim meets on Saturday.
				Provided there are no setbacks, most WVC teams will reach the PIAA practice requirements by Friday and others by the end of this weekend. There are a few exceptions. Crestwood wrestling won&rsquo;t be able to hold a match until Jan. 15. Dallas girls basketball won&rsquo;t meet the necessary practices until Jan. 13. Wyoming Area boys basketball and wrestling can&rsquo;t hold competitions until Jan. 11. Wyoming Seminary girls basketball can&rsquo;t play until Jan. 12.
				The WVC girls basketball and swimming seasons begin Jan. 14. The WVC boys basketball season starts Jan. 15.
				The District 2 athletic committee has a meeting scheduled for Thursday with WVC and Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association athletic directors. The district basketball playoffs will likely be addressed.
				The WVC athletic directors met on Dec. 23 and decided to recommend to the District 2 athletic committee to keep the district basketball playoffs to a maximum of eight teams in any classification. The WVC athletic directors also want District 2 to require teams to complete at least 33% of their schedule &mdash; which figures out to eight games &mdash; in order to qualify for the postseason.
				The LIAA superintendents decided on Monday to keep the start of their regular seasons at Jan. 21, although teams could start practice immediately and some are considering scheduling non-league games prior to that date. They are also making masks mandatory for practices and games.
				Three LIAA schools &mdash; Honesdale, Wallenpaupack and Western Wayne &mdash; have closed down their winter sports programs with the intention of restarting them later this month.
				The PIAA Board of Directors meets on Wednesday. Although no agenda has been posted as of Monday afternoon, it&rsquo;s likely the directors will be voting on state basketball playoffs which will include only district champions. The board made the same adjustment to state championships in the fall.

H.S. Sports: Wyoming Valley Conference teams return to practice; some to start play on Friday