The Colorado High School Activities Association announced Monday that the start of Season B, which includes basketball, wrestling, girls’ swimming and ice hockey, has been delayed due to the rise in COVID-19 cases across the state.

According to a news release, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment sent a letter to CHSAA commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green, indicating no variances will be given to sports at this time.

CHSAA is proposing a Feb. 1 start date for Season B and will meet with the health department and Gov. Jared Polis’ COVID response team in mid-January to discuss variances. According to the release, no variances will be considered prior to the January meeting.

“At this time, we do not have enough information about what disease incidence and hospitalization capacity will look like in January, and therefore are unable to make a determination regarding indoor high school athletics in Season B,” Jill Hunsaker Rye, the executive director of the CDPHE, wrote to Blanford-Green.

CHSAA submitted Season B variances to the state more than a month ago, according to Blanford-Green. The commissioner said she understands the pandemic has grown worse across the state since the variance request was submitted, and said CHSAA will remain flexible with any recommendation provided by the state health department.

“Our top goal for the new year is to support a return to in-person learning. Season B sports are conducted mainly indoors during the colder months, which reduces the ability to assure social distancing,” Hunsaker Rye wrote. “This in turn may further promote disease transmission at a time when we need to ensure that students and teachers are protected and that in-person learning is the highest priority.”

Season B was projected to begin practices Jan. 4, according to the revised sports calendar released by CHSAA in August. Pushing back the start date for Season B will also affect the start of the remaining CHSAA seasons, including the state’s secondary football season, which was scheduled to begin practice at the end of February.

The new proposed CHSAA sports calendar would allow Season B sports, basketball, skiing, wrestling, girls’ swimming, ice hockey and spirit, to begin practice Jan. 25, pending approval. Season C, which consists of boys’ soccer, field hockey, girls’ volleyball, gymnastics, unified bowling and spring football, would begin practice March 15. Season D, made up of traditional spring sports of baseball, lacrosse, track and field, boys’ swimming, boys’ volleyball, girls’ soccer, tennis and golf, will begin May 3 if the proposed dates and future variances are approved.