UPDATE: Santa Clara County health officials released a statement Wednesday evening saying they would allow the same level of prep sports competition as California’s state-wide standards. Read our story about that change here.

About five minutes after sending an email Tuesday evening, Dave Grissom’s phone began lighting up with a barrage of replies, calls and texts. His mass message to high school administrators outlined the next steps for purple-tier prep sports to return to action.

What he didn’t know — and was about to find out, en masse — was that for about half of the schools in his section, sports had just been put on hold indefinitely.

Grissom, the commissioner of the California Interscholastic Federation’s Central Coast Section, had been in recent communication with health officials in all six counties that fall under his section’s jurisdiction. All six, he said, had assured him that they wouldn’t stray from the youth sports guidelines set forth by the California Department of Public Health. Then, Tuesday afternoon, in the final minutes of a meeting with county superintendents, Santa Clara County health officials unveiled a set of new restrictions that effectively bar any youth sports competition.

“Talk about frustration, right?” Grissom told this news organization over the phone. “High school sports are important to a lot of kids. The opportunity to compete is important to a lot of kids and their families. Just to what feels like arbitrarily make that decision is just mind-boggling to me. … I really wanted to work with them, and I feel like there was no attempt to work with CCS at all in this. Maybe that was their motive, I don’t know, I can’t speak for them.”

On Sunday night, Grissom had been equally caught off guard when Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted the regional stay-at-home order, which paved the way for the first high-school sports competitions since last March. Two nights later, the surprise was not so pleasant.

Schools in the other five counties with CCS teams are preparing to begin practice for purple-tier sports — in Season 1, mostly cross country — with no indication their respective health departments will follow in Santa Clara’s footsteps. Grissom has a phone call scheduled Wednesday evening and a webinar Thursday morning with education and health officials in Santa Clara County. Heading into the meetings, which will be his first with county officials since the stay-at-home order was lifted, “I have a lot of questions that I didn’t have prior,” he said.

The county rules establish a new term, “stable groups,” which can be understood as individual teams. No two stable groups are permitted to come within 25 feet of each other outdoors, or even in the same room while inside. Additionally, members of the same group should stay 6 feet apart at all times, including during practice.

Grissom and others questioned the evidence behind the new distancing rules.

“I look at what they did with the Niners and with Stanford and with San Jose State, and I just shake my head,” Grissom said. “Like, I want to know what data they’re looking at. In that meeting, there (was) no conversation about what it would take to allow for sports. What are the data points that they’re looking at that they’re not telling us? Or is it just an opportunity for the health department to just say no, draw a line in the sand and move on? What are you saying to our families in the CCS? What are you saying to our student-athletes in the CCS? I am really interested in what the data points are moving forward. …

“We were already in purple,” he continued. “We’re still in purple. The only thing that changed (without the stay-at-home order) is that now we can compete. The greater restrictions they throw in, it’s something like two stable cohorts can meet, but they have to stay 25 feet away from one another. Twenty-five feet? Where does that number come from? There’s zero data that supports 25 feet. And they’re bringing up data, they’re bringing up a situation in Placer County, and I get it. That was wrong, but that was club teams that were doing that. That wasn’t high schools. The high schools have done nothing but follow (the health guidelines) … But now at what cost?”

Q&A with CCS commissioner Dave Grissom

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Evan Webeck: I assume you’ve seen the news out of Santa Clara County?

Dave Grissom: Yeah, so I found out about it late yesterday evening. I had actually drafted an email and sent it off to my member schools about the fact we were no longer in shelter in place and that purple sports could begin — those kind of things. I said make sure you check with your school, make sure your check with your county to make sure they didn’t put out greater restrictions, yada yada yada, right? And then about five minutes after I sent that out, I received an email from one of the superintendents that was on one of the superintendent calls yesterday, subsequently received numerous emails and texts and phone calls from people who were in those meetings.

EW: It sounds like it caught you off guard?

DG: That’d be fair to say.

EW: What are the implications for sports going forward in the CCS?

DG: Well, let me say this: we have five other counties that have not had any greater restrictions. To the best of my knowledge at this time in my conversations and emails with other counties, that are not planning on having greater restrictions. Therefore, those counties could play as the tiers dictate can play. 50% of our schools section-wide lay within Santa Clara County. Those schools at this time, from what I’m reading, cannot play. I have a meeting this evening … now I have a lot of questions that I didn’t have prior. When I, multiple times, went through exactly what the guidelines were, and I’m told that there was no expectation that there would be greater guidelines than what the California Department of Public Health had put out for youth sports. Then yesterday, in a conference call with superintendents, that changes without any forewarning, I’m really concerned for our student athletes. I’m really concerned.

EW: Last week, you said county officials had been telling you they wouldn’t go beyond the state restrictions, but you also said, ‘Now I say that and they have the choice to later go back on that.’ Now here we are.

DG: I look at what they did with the Niners and with Stanford and with San Jose State, and I just shake my head. Like, (pause) I want to know what data they’re looking at. In that meeting, there has been no conversation about what it would take to allow for sports. What are the data points that they’re looking at that they’re not telling us? Or is it just an opportunity for the health department to just say no, draw a line in the sand and move on? What are you saying to our families in the CCS? What are you saying to our student-athletes in the CCS? I am really interested in what the data points are moving forward.

EW: Does it feel similar to the surprise about the stay-at-home order?

DG: Well, I think that this may have actually played into this. One of the comments that was made to me by one of my contacts in the health department was, the stay-at-home order being lifted, we were never forewarned. That’s fair. I get that part. But my response to that and my concern about that is they didn’t actually change anything in regards to the guidelines. We were already in purple. We’re still in purple. The only thing that changed (without the stay-at-home order) is that now we can compete. The greater restrictions they throw in, it’s something like two stable cohorts can meet, but they have to stay 25 feet away from one another. Twenty-five feet? Where does that number come from? There’s zero data that supports 25 feet. And they’re bringing up data, they’re bringing up a situation in Placer County, and I get it. That was wrong, but that was club teams that were doing that. That wasn’t high schools. The high schools have done nothing but follow (the health guidelines) … But now at what cost?

EW: It sounds like you’ve talked with county officials since the lifting of the stay-at-home order?

DG: No, no I did not. After everything went down last night, I reached out to one of my contacts at the health department. I reached out to him, but that was the first time I’ve had contact with them since the stay-at-home order was lifted, but it lifted on Monday. … Talk about frustration, right? If you watch the Monday press conference with the Santa Clara Health Department, there’s actually a question from the media … about youth sports. Everything that was said there was exactly as I understood it. And then Tuesday, they turn around and they add a slide with greater restrictions, which I’d never heard. Let me be honest: They don’t owe me that conversation, that’s why they go to the superintendents and go tell them, but superintendents that I’ve talked to or others that were in the room just feel like it’s an added slide right there at the end. Slides 33 and 34. Kind of like oh and by the way. Like, just so you know. Really? High school sports are important to a lot of kids. The opportunity to compete is important to a lot of kids and their families. Just to what feels like arbitrarily make a decision is just mind-boggling to me.

EW: And even practices could be more restricted? What can purple-tier sports do?

DG: Now, that part existed already as long as you weren’t in your tier. Let’s say you were a red sport but we were in the purple tier, you had to wear a mask; you had to be outdoors. That stuff was already there. The question becomes now, if I’m a red sport — baseball or softball — and our county’s in red, do we still have to be six feet apart? … The world of cross country, right, it’s really the only sport CCS has open right now, though some of our leagues have been a little less restrictive. There’s a few of those you could probably do. Cross country, you could practice. You can stay six feet apart and go running, right? A lot of play golf now with six feet of distance between us. So that’s all possible. Tennis is more questionable. Doubles becomes an issue. You do have at times both players in singles at the net, so there’s some issues there. But I partly question, I just shake my head, like OK, so the rest of the counties, they’re just going to play? And then Santa Clara County … I don’t know. I don’t know if things are going to change and I should probably stop. … I really wanted to work with them, and I feel like there was no attempt to work with CCS at all in this. Maybe that was their motive, I don’t know, I can’t speak for them.