Mar 13, 2020 3 min read

Prior to Gov. Tom Wolf announcing all Pennsylvania high schools would be closed the next two weeks, multiple area school districts made the decision to postpone spring sports seasons because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The first play date for baseball, softball, boys and girls track, boys and girls lacrosse and boys volleyball was to be March 20. Boys tennis began Monday.

“It just seemed logical,” Washington athletic director Mike Bosnic said. “I consulted with the principal and superintendent. At this point, postponing until we know more is the best thing.”

Many districts had a similar response to the worldwide pandemic, which led President Donald Trump to declare a national emergency Friday afternoon. Several announced via Twitter that they had suspended all athletic events, including practices and meetings, for at least the next two weeks.

The PIAA postponed the winter sports championships Tuesday, which included boys and girls basketball scheduled for next weekend in Hershey and the swimming and diving at Bucknell University.

“The Board of Directors are committed to promoting an environment of healthy athletic competition that is consistent with current health department and the Center for the Disease Control guidelines,” PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said.

While the PIAA didn’t rule on spring sports, Wolf’s closure of schools wipes everything out for the next two weeks.

“First and foremost, my top priority as governor – and that of our education leaders – must be to ensure the health and safety of our students and school communities,” Wolf said. “As such, I am ordering that all schools in the commonwealth close for the next two weeks.”

The WPIAL sent a notice earlier this week to schools saying that spring sports schedules remained a local decision and each school could decide independently whether to play or not play. The WPIAL board of control will meet Monday to discuss how to approach spring sports.

The two-week hiatus immediately cuts into the section schedules of every spring sport other than girls lacrosse and baseball. The opening section date for girls lacrosse is March 30. Local baseball teams open section play April 1.

“It’s hard to say at this point (how long this will go),” Bosnic said. “You think about kids, the seniors, the coaches who have put the work in. It’s potentially heartbreaking. It hasn’t played out yet but there is just a lot of unknown variables. At this point, postponing everything until we know more is the best thing.”