Today’s the day the latest batch of thousands of Colorado student-athletes have awaited — the opening of sports practices for the 2009-10 school year.
For the 89th time on record, in-staters will embark on fall preseason drills as the prelude to the busiest of three prep seasons annually.
Boys golfers again had an early start — they began practice a week ago and had their first matches last Thursday — but competitors in boys and girls cross country, field hockey, football, gymnastics, boys soccer, softball, boys tennis and volleyball will be underway today.
Boys tennis (Thursday) and softball (Friday) also are permitted first competitions before the six others, although it has proved to be all but meaningless. Each sport competes in only a couple of events before being joined in an across-the-board fall beginning Sept. 3.
It’s a later start than usual for the opening of the high school sports year, mostly because of the seven-year cycle as well as joining area states in more of a universal beginning.
Notable interruptions to fall sports will be Labor Day, assorted fall breaks throughout districts and a break for Thanksgiving, but the opening season also runs into December.
The first fall championships will be for three classifications of boys golf from Oct. 5-6 and will be capped Dec. 5 by four classes of football finals.
As usual, fall will have another wrinkle — winter sports practices will begin Nov. 12, before championships in volleyball and football are completed.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
Fall forward
The state’s 89th high school sports year begins practices in earnest today:
Boys golf: Began Aug. 10; first match was Aug. 13; championships Oct. 5-6
Boys tennis: First matches Thursday; championships Oct. 15-17
Softball: First games Friday; championships Oct. 23-24
Boys and girls cross country: First meets Sept. 3; championships Oct. 31
Field hockey: First games Sept. 3; championship Nov. 2
Gymnastics: First meets Sept. 3; championships Nov. 6-7
Boys soccer: First matches Sept. 3; championships Nov. 10-11
Volleyball: First matches Sept. 3; championships Nov. 13-14
Football: First games Sept. 3 (there will be another Zero Week, Aug. 28-29); championships Nov. 21-Dec. 5
