Students looking for a sense of normal after the end of work-to-rule by their teachers may find there's uncertainty for the next several weeks.

The Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation is surveying schools, finding out if and when they might be ready to play.

“We have met with our conveners for all of our sports and they believe that we can do a truncated season,” said Stephen Gallant, executive director of the federation.

Hockey, basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, skiing and snowboarding are all affected.

“It's going to take a couple of weeks because a lot of teams haven't been practicing or have been practicing in different ways,” Gallant said.

Organizers of the annual Red Cup Hockey Tournament in Cape Breton are scrambling to revive it. They will go ahead Feb. 2 to 4, with a half-slate of teams.

“It will be non-stop until the tournament comes,” said tournament organizer John Hanna. “There's a lot of little details. We try and provide a good product.”

Basketball Nova Scotia and Hockey Nova Scotia have stepped up to provide athletes with another option with alternate leagues. Both organizations are still working out the next steps.

“We're prepared to shut down the league and those players would go back and play high school. At the same time, we're fully prepared to keep the league going,” said Darren Cossar, executive director of Hockey Nova Scotia.

Ice has been booked by Hockey Nova Scotia, meaning high school teams could have trouble getting ice time. Organizers don't think the leagues can coexist.

Then there's the issue of teacher participation. The Nova Scotia Teacher Union President Liette Doucet has put Nova Scotians on notice.

“They will use their professional judgement and they will make decisions on what they're going to volunteer for and what they're going to do, how they're going to do it,” Doucet said Monday.

Until union members vote on the tentative agreement on Feb. 8, work-to-rule is suspended. A no-vote could potentially result in more job action.

For now, league organizers are focused on getting students back into action.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie.