Apr 16, 2020 2 min read

The Tri-CADA Coach of the Year banquet took a called third strike Thursday.

The banquet, held annually for nearly 70 years, was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Tri-County Athletic Directors’ Association, which runs the banquet, said the athletes, coaches and contributors will be honored next year with the 2021 honorees. The banquet is usually held on the final weekend in April.

This year’s banquet, which is held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe, was originally scheduled for Sunday, April 25.

The finalists and winners in each category and scholarship winners will be released early next week. They will be invited to attend next year’s banquet.

Laura Grimm, athletic director at Ringgold High School and the president of Tri-CADA, said a decision to cancel the banquet was a difficult one.

“There was no other way around it,” said Grimm. “There are very few events around the calendar year that collectively we all look forward to. Certainly, that was one of them. We have plans to double up next year. We’ll fill the ballroom up then.”

At last year’s banquet, 66 honorees were recognized, the Observer-Reporter newspaper presented its Sports Headliner award and the Tri-County Athletic Directors’ Association revealed its eight scholarship award winners.

“The ones I feel the worst for are last year’s spring athletes,” Grimm said. “They are normally a year (behind because the season isn’t completed) and now they will be two years removed. Are any of them coming back? I guess that’s a possibility. I hope so.”

The banquet, which honors and recognizes the athletic achievements of athletes and coaches in the Tri-County area, has been a mainstay in Washington County since 1955, when the first coach was honored.

Grimm said the extended stay-at-home order through April by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf sealed the banquet’s fate.

All proceeds from the banquet support Special Olympics.