The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association’s board of directors meeting came to a close on Wednesday with the winter sports season scheduled to start on time.

But the PIAA made several changes as schools work through the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with several conferences already delaying the start of their seasons until January.

Teams that have met COVID-19 protocols and choose to start on time will be able to do so. But for those that have decided to wait, the PIAA has given them the opportunity to schedule contests later.

A big change for basketball is that the state tournament will now feature only district champions with brackets limited to 12 teams, instead of the 32-team brackets.

The PIAA also passed an amendment that teams will be able to continue playing regular season contests until the state championship dates should they be eliminated from the postseason.

“The thing that I’m looking forward to, probably more than any other season, is getting these kids on the floor,” said Marian boys’ basketball head coach John Patton. “Whether it’s five games, or 15 games, or 25 games, I think these kids have been through so much that if we can get them on the floor and we can keep them safe and we can keep them healthy; forget about the wins and losses and championships and all that stuff, I think the important thing is getting them on the floor now and having them get a little bit of a sense of normality.”

The state tournament will now start in mid-March instead on March 6 to give schools the chance to play regular season games and have district tournaments. The final date for state championship contests is March 27.

The PIAA individual wrestling tournament will be eight entries per event. The tournament will also be split into morning and afternoon sessions to break up the weight classes.

This means that all eight wrestlers will medal.

The wrestling postseason will now have districts, regionals, super regionals and states.

In swimming and diving, the PIAA accepted the steering committee’s plan to reduce the number of qualifiers from 32 to 16 based on time, and host a reduced schedule of the championship in each classification. The diving competition may be changed from the standard schedule to a separate two-day stand-alone tournament.

The PIAA also voted on protocols for practices in regard to stoppages caused by COVID-19 shutdowns.

Teams will have to practice two days before they play if they miss seven consecutive practices. If they miss 10 practices, they will have to practice three days before. And if they miss 14 practices, they will need to practice for four days.

If there is a cancellation of an event due to COVID-19, it will be a no contest and not a forfeit. If schools disagree on wearing a mask, it would also be a no contest and not a forfeit.

The next PIAA meeting is scheduled for Jan. 6.