ST. MICHAELS, MARYLAND — St. Michaels Middle High School’s official athletics channels have posted the 2026 fall sports start slate for Saints high school teams: orientation, mandatory tryouts, registration rules, a new volleyball program note, and cashless ticketing — with the statewide first allowable play date set by the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association.

On the school Live Feed and the new Saints athletics site smsaints.com, fall sports orientation was listed for Thursday, Aug. 6, at 6 p.m. in the SMMHS cafeteria. High school fall athletes and families were asked to attend. Before participating, athletes must register through Snap, keep an updated sports physical on file, and finish required athletic paperwork. Links and forms are pointed to smsaints.com. Athletic Director Brian Femi is listed as the department contact on that site.

Fall sports tryouts were set to begin Wednesday, Aug. 12, with sport-specific times to be confirmed by coaches; the school called tryouts mandatory. A separate Live Feed reminder said any student-athlete not registered in Snap and without an updated physical on file would not be allowed to participate in fall tryouts.

School midsummer athletics updates also said volleyball is a new athletic opportunity for Saints students this year and that smsaints.com is the home for schedules, registration, and announcements. For ticketing, SMMHS said it is moving to a cashless system and will continue using GoFan for athletic ticket sales. Admission is to be charged for fall soccer, field hockey, and volleyball; winter basketball and wrestling; and spring baseball and softball. The athletics site note adds that cash will be accepted only at concession stands.

Separately, MPSSAA’s 2026–27 Quick Reference Calendar and sport pages list Wednesday, Aug. 12, as the first practice date and Friday, Sept. 4, as the first play date for cross country, field hockey, football, soccer, and volleyball — the statewide gate for counting regular-season results. Golf’s first contest date on that calendar is Aug. 12. Those dates apply to Talbot’s public high schools, including St. Michaels.