By Ray Hamill — The waiting game is set to continue, and it appears unlikely local high school sports will return to competition any time soon.

On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom and Dr. Mark Ghaly from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that the release of updated youth sports guidelines has been postponed.

That means for now the current guidelines, which were released in early August, will remain in effect, with no competition allowed.

The H-DNL and the rest of the state was tentatively scheduled to begin competition in December, but that now appears unlikely.

Cross country and basketball were the first two sports scheduled to begin locally on Dec. 7.

According to H-DNL commissioner Jack Lakin, the league will continue to monitor what is a fluid situation.

“The time frame for when we can begin full athletic participation in some or all sports, and what the future sports calendars may look like are both unknowns,” he said, adding that it’s “tough to do any specific planning right now.”

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) had been in talks recently with state health officials over a possible return, but concerns remain over the continued spike in COVID-19 cases.

The CIF issued the following press release on Monday afternoon, “In today’s COVID-19 press briefing, Governor Newsom and Dr. Mark Ghaly from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) disclosed that the release of updated youth sports guidance has been postponed. Therefore, the current guidance remains in effect, and CIF competitions are not allowed until new guidance is provided.”