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Deadline Set

Spring Championships Canceled; Section VI Says Schools Must Be Back By June 1 For Any Regular Season

Dugouts across Section VI will remain empty for the remainder of the spring season unless school is back in session by June 1. P-J file photo

Hope is running out for spring sports athletes.

Two decisions came down Monday that cancel various high school competitions over the next two months.

First, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association canceled all 2020 spring state championship events. The impacted sports are track and field, boys tennis, softball, baseball and lacrosse tournaments scheduled for June 4-13.

“Unfortunately, with the continued impact of the COVID-19 crisis, hosting the spring 2020 state championships is no longer feasible (time factor, facility and venue availability, etc.),” said Paul Harrica, NYSPHSAA president. “Canceling the remaining winter state championships in late March was challenging and the cancellation of our spring state championships today is equally disappointing.”

In the release, the NYSPHSAA said it will continue to rely upon information from the New York State Department of Health, local health departments as well as the governor’s office for information and guidance on COVID-19 and its impact upon the spring regular season.

P-J file photo

“Today’s decision is difficult for the membership of NYSPHSAA,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA executive director. “We certainly sympathize with the students, coaches and their school communities, especially the graduating seniors.”

On the heels of the state announcing its decision, Section VI — the governing body for Western New York schools — also canceled its spring championships in addition to any jayvee or modified competition.

“The Section VI Executive Committee is still affording leagues the opportunity to participate in some form of a regular season at the varsity level only following the NY Pause guidelines and practice requirements established by NYSPHSAA,” Timm Slade, Section VI executive director, said in a statement.

Slade added that after speaking with Section VI President Adam Stoltman and the rest of the committee, they relented to the fact that if schools are not in session by June 1, all varsity sports’ regular seasons would also be canceled.

“I kind of thought state championships would be canceled,” Chautauqua Lake softball coach Sue Teets said Monday afternoon. “I had hopes if we got back we could have a somewhat shortened season and Section VI championships. It was a surprise to me they canceled so quickly.”

As of Monday, spring regular seasons continued to be on hold for nine of the 11 sections in New York state, including Section VI. Sections VIII and XI officially canceled spring sports last Tuesday.

Locally, the section also said that although 10 practices are required before playing baseball games and six practices are needed before all other sports are played, the first week of practice that began March 9 and continued until March 14 before schools closed, will not be counted.

“I agree that the first week shouldn’t count. The worst thing for the players would be to have them play immediately,” Frewsburg baseball coach Jay Grann said in a text message. “At Frewsburg, we have tried to keep players motivated and in shape, but I have my doubts they’d be game ready. For their safety there would need to be a time period to acclimate their bodies back to playing shape.”

“I would definitely need six to eight days to get them back to where we need to be,” Teets said of her players. “Most of them have been throwing and some of them have been hitting at home.”

When you start connecting the dots, the chances any high school sports are played this spring remain slim.

On Sunday, Gov. Cuomo said that construction and manufacturing jobs that represent low risks for workers will be among the first to resume once New York state begins reopening after the coronavirus shutdown.

The Democrat said during his daily briefing that determinations of when reopening begins will follow federal guidance that says reopening should not begin until the state and regional hospitalization rates have declined for 14 days.

Once those businesses reopen, a two-week period would follow before more businesses reopen. He also alluded to the fact that schools would likely need to be open for most larger businesses to reopen.

“Schools are necessary for a large-scale business reopening,” Cuomo said during Sunday’s briefing. “You couldn’t really get to a maximum Phase 2 without opening schools.”

Even in a best-case scenario in which the second phase began 14 days after the first, that would bring decision makers to a date of May 29 — just three days before Section VI’s June 1 drop-dead date.

During Monday’s daily briefing, Cuomo said he may extend NY Pause regulations in many parts of the state. Western New York has the highest infection rate outside of New York City, and based on the state’s Economic Development Councils, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties are included in Western New York.

Even if schools in other parts of the state open by June 1, it remains unlikely that schools locally would be allowed to open.

“In my opinion … I do not think a return to school will happen due to the proximity of students/staff in school buildings,” Grann said. “I would doubt everyone would be able to distance properly.”

Although not official, it seems time has run out on spring sports teams.

“Even if we could play one round of our league schedule … if we could salvage something, it would be fantastic,” Teets said. “We still have our fingers crossed.”

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