Council Approves Winter Schedule Update
December 23, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association today approved an adjusted regular-season calendar for indoor Winter sports, which under current Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) orders may restart their seasons Saturday, Jan. 16.
All Winter sports activity had been paused by MDHHS on Nov. 18 to decrease spread of COVID-19. Girls and boys alpine skiing, with all activity taking place outdoors, was allowed by MDHHS to resume its season Monday (Dec. 21) and remains underway. If the MDHHS pause ends, indoor practices may begin again Jan. 16, with first competitions Jan. 22 for basketball, bowling, ice hockey and swimming & diving; and Jan. 25 for competitive cheer, gymnastics and wrestling.
The Council also approved one-year changes to competition limits in ice hockey and wrestling. In hockey, teams may play two games on one non-school day on two dates this season – with four games total during those two weeks when this opportunity is utilized. Wrestling teams are allowed two dates of competition per week this season, with competition limited to four teams at a site (and three matches per student per day of competition).
The Council also approved changes to the Winter tournament schedule pushing championships in most sports back to allow for regular seasons to be extended due to the late start. Following are the updated dates:
Boys and Girls Basketball
Girls Districts - March 8, 10 and 12; Boys Districts - March 9, 11 and 13
Girls Regionals - March 16 and 18; Boys Regionals - March 17 and 19
Girls QF, Semifinals and Finals - March 22 (QF), March 24 (Semifinals- 2 Sites) and March 26 (Finals)
Boys QF, Semifinals and Finals - March 23 (QF), March 25 (Semifinals- 2 Sites) and March 27 (Finals)
Bowling
Regionals - March 19-20
Finals - March 26-27
Competitive Cheer
Districts - March 5-6
Regionals - March 13
Finals - March 19-20
Gymnastics
Regionals - March 20
Finals - March 26-27
Ice Hockey
Regionals - March 15-20
Finals - March 25-27
Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving
Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Swim & Dive Finals - Feb. 27
Lower Peninsula Boys Dive Regionals - March 18
Lower Peninsula Boys Finals - March 26-27
Wrestling
District Week - March 1
Regional Week - March 8
Team Finals - March 19-20
Individual Finals - March 26-27
Currently, the start dates of Spring sports are not affected. If current orders further delay activity beyond Jan. 16, the MHSAA staff and Representative Council will devise updated plans that address both Winter and Spring sports. If current orders are amended to allow activity to begin earlier, the first days of practice and competition will be moved up accordingly.
“The Council has been working to give schools as much local flexibility as possible while putting together their winter seasons schedules,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “This flexible planning has been required of us all since June, and we will continue to advocate for kids in all seasons with our continued goal of three seasons played to completion.”
Girls Wrestling District, Regional Team Titles Headline 2025-26 Winter Additions, Rule Changes
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 4, 2025
The MHSAA will this season award District and Regional team championships in girls wrestling for the first time, with those additions headlining changes to winter sports as 2025-26 activities continue to get underway this month across the state.
Ice hockey, gymnastics, competitive cheer, girls and boys bowling, Upper Peninsula girls and boys swimming & diving, girls and boys wrestling and boys basketball all have begun competition for the 2025-26 season. Girls and boys skiing, Lower Peninsula boys swimming & diving and girls basketball will begin competition over the next week.
The first Finals team championship in girls wrestling was awarded to Grand Haven to conclude the 2024-25 season, with scoring based on results from individual brackets at the MHSAA Individual Finals. Team champions for District and Regional levels this winter will be determined using the same format as the sport continues to grow toward the possibility of a head-to-head team tournament. A total of 1,505 girls participated in wrestling during the 2024-25 season, more than double the 620 participants from 2021-22, the first season the MHSAA conducted a girls division at the Individual Finals.
Ice hockey teams also will enjoy a significant addition this winter, as they are now allowed to play 27 regular-season games – two more than in seasons past – plus one scrimmage. Ice hockey also has one on-ice rule change that will be noticeable: A puck resting on top of the goal netting between the crossbar and goal frame is now considered unplayable and results in an immediate game stoppage. A puck outside of the goal netting and below the crossbar remains in play for both teams.
The most noticeable rule changes in basketball this winter address goaltending. Offensive teams no longer can be called for goaltending violations, reducing ambiguity over whether a ball was a shot or a pass. Additionally, a rule change establishes that once the ball contacts the backboard, it is automatically considered to be on its downward flight – if a player touches the ball after it hits the backboard, and the ball has a possibility of entering the basket, it is to be ruled as goaltending.
Another basketball rule change expanded the definition of basket interference to include when a player slaps or strikes the backboard, causing the backboard or basket to vibrate, while the ball is on or within the basket, touching the backboard, or within the cylinder.
As were allowed during the fall Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving season, backstroke ledges will be permitted this LP boys and UP girls and boys season in pools that maintain a 6-foot water depth. If used in competition, identical ledges must be provided by the host team for all lanes, although individual swimmers are not required to use them. Also in swimming & diving – during relay exchanges – second, third and fourth swimmers must have one foot stationary at the front edge of the deck. The remainder of their bodies may be in motion prior to the finish of the incoming swimmer.
The 2025-26 Winter campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving Finals on Feb. 21 and wraps up with the Girls Basketball Finals on March 21.
A one-year calendar change will move this season’s Competitive Cheer Finals one week later than usual, to March 6-7, to accommodate scheduling at McGuirk Arena at Central Michigan University. Districts this season in cheer are scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2026, and Regionals for Feb. 28, with Finals the following weekend. Dates for the 2026-27 and future competitive cheer seasons will return to their previously-approved schedule, with Finals to be held during the last Saturday (and previous Friday) in February.
Here is a complete list of winter tournament dates for 2025-26:
Boys Basketball
Districts – Feb. 23, 25, 27
Regionals – March 3, 5
Quarterfinals – March 10
Semifinals – March 12-13
Finals – March 14
Girls Basketball
Districts – March 2, 4, 5
Regionals – March 9, 11
Quarterfinals – March 17
Semifinals – March 19-20
Finals – March 21
Bowling
Regionals – Feb. 18-21
Finals – Feb. 27-28
Competitive Cheer
Districts – Feb. 20-21
Regionals – Feb. 28
Finals – March 6-7
Gymnastics
Regionals – Feb. 28
Finals – March 6-7
Ice Hockey
Regionals – Feb. 16-25
Quarterfinals – Feb. 28
Semifinals – March 5-6
Finals – March 7
Skiing
Regionals – Feb. 9-13
Finals – Feb. 23
Swimming & Diving
Upper Peninsula Girls/Boys Finals – Feb. 21
Lower Peninsula Boys Diving Regionals – March 5
Lower Peninsula Boys Finals – March 13-14
Wrestling – Team
Districts – Feb. 11-12
Regionals – Feb. 18
Finals – Feb. 27-28
Wrestling – Individual
Boys Districts – Feb. 14
Girl Districts – Feb. 15
Boys Regionals – Feb. 21
Girls Regionals – Feb. 22
Finals – March 6-7