14 Del. Admin. Code § 1035-4.0 - Practice Sessions

4.1 Member Schools shall comply with the following for all Practice sessions:

4.1.1 All Practice sessions shall be conducted under the supervision of the school's certified, emergency or approved volunteer coaching staff.

4.1.2 Member Schools may conduct Practice sessions during the approved sports seasons as defined in Section 3.0.

4.1.3 Member Schools shall conduct Practice sessions regularly during the 21 calendar days prior to the first scheduled contest.

4.1.4 There must be one day of no activity (Practice, Scrimmage, or contest) during any seven-day period.

4.1.5 A student that has not previously participated in that sports season shall be required to participate with the team for a period of at least seven calendar days prior to participating in a contest. Eligibility for participation in a contest shall begin on the eighth calendar day of participation with the team. However, if a student has been participating in a state tournament during the preceding sports season and is unable to begin practicing at least seven calendar days before the team's first contest, student shall be exempt from this requirement.

4.1.6 Students shall have unrestricted access to drinking water and be permitted a minimum of one five-minute rest period during each hour of Practice.

4.1.7 Member Schools shall comply with the heat related Practice modifications designated by the Board.

4.1.8 Holding Practice on holidays and weekends shall be left to the discretion of the Member Schools. However, the restrictions on nonschool day Practice sessions apply and there must be one day of no activity (Practice, Scrimmage, or contest) during any seven-day period.

4.2 Member Schools shall comply with the following for all Practice sessions held on nonschool days. A nonschool day is defined as a day when, in accordance with the approved school calendar, students are not scheduled for academic instructional activities.

4.2.1 Each Practice session shall be no more than three hours in length.

4.2.2 Practice session on a nonschool day is defined as the time a participant engages in physical or instructional activity.

4.2.3 The hourly Practice limitation does not include time for non-instructional activities such as dressing, showering, transportation, or training room care.

4.2.4 Students shall not participate in more than two Practice sessions totaling no more than five hours of Practice on nonschool Practice days including a one-hour walk-through session. A walk-through session shall be defined as a teaching opportunity with no protective equipment (e.g., shin guards, helmets, etc.) or equipment related to a given sport (e.g., soccer balls, field hockey sticks, etc.).

4.2.5 On days when two Practice sessions are conducted, no Practice session shall exceed three hours in length and must be separated with at least one hour of recovery time between the end of the first Practice and the beginning of the next Practice.

4.2.6 Split sessions, defined as a Practice session held for different groups of students playing the same sport, may be conducted but Practice time shall not exceed three hours per session and five hours total daily for any individual athlete.

4.3 Member Schools shall comply with the following for all Practice sessions held on official student School Days.

4.3.1 Practice sessions shall be limited to two hours.

4.3.2 The two-hour limit on Practice sessions on official School Days includes all instructional activity on the field, court, mat, or track or in the pool, weight room, or classroom such as team meetings, film reviews, blackboard sessions, warm-up and cool-down exercises, drills or mandatory strength training.

4.3.3 The two-hour Practice session limitation does not include time for non-instructional activities such as dressing, showering, transportation, or training room care.

4.3.4 Split sessions may be conducted but Practice time shall not exceed two hours for any individual athlete.

4.4 A Member School that fails to comply with these Practice requirements shall pay a $500.00 fine for each day of non-compliance.

Notes

14 Del. Admin. Code § 1035-4.0

26 DE Reg. 202 (9/1/2022) (Final)