KSHSAA cancels spring activities for rest of school year

The Kansas State High School Activities Association issued a statement Thursday that all spring championships, competitions and festivals for the remainder of the school year have been cancelled in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“The KSHSAA is committed to the safety of our student-participants and the health of our school communities,” the statement said. The association’s decision is based on Gov. Laura Kelly’s Executive Order, which was issued March 17 regarding the closure and cessation of in-person instruction in all Kansas schools through May 29.

The following is KSHSAA’s statement:

“The KSHSAA recognizes the value of school activities for all students and school communities, but the current situation does not permit the opportunity for school activities to take place in a manner that is consistent with the very reason school activities exist.

“As a commitment to the health of Kansas students and communities, the best decision and only reasonable response is to cancel the regular season and post-season spring activity season. We all have an important responsibility to minimize community transmission as we embrace suggested precautions regarding COVID-19. As educators, the primary focus for our students and families is the health and well-being of each student. This action by the KSHSAA supports that effort across Kansas.

“The KSHSAA strongly discourages non-school activity participation at this time in an effort to mitigate the community transmission of the coronavirus. All CDC, KDHE and KSDE recommendations for preventing disease transmission should be followed at this time for any non-school activity in which a student participates.”

The following links provide access to these resources: www.cdc.gov, www.kdheks.gov and www.ksde.org.

USD 234 officials support KSHSAA’s decision to cancel all spring sports and activities as “their (KSHSAA) first priority has to be the health and safety of our students during this difficult time, and their decision was made with that in mind,” FSHS Activities Director Jeff DeLaTorre said in an email Thursday. “With that said, it is incredibly disappointing to know that our students will not get an opportunity to participate in activities for the rest of the school year.”

DeLaTorre said KSHSAA’s decision affects not only FSHS spring sports program, but also the high school’s music and forensics departments, clubs and organizations.

“We are especially sad for our seniors who will not get another opportunity to participate in these activities at FSHS,” DeLaTorre said. “But once again the health and safety of our kids is priority number one. They will persevere through this and we hope this situation clears up so we can get back to activities next fall.”

The following are the 2020 schedules for spring sports programs at Fort Scott High School and Uniontown High School:

Fort Scott High School

The FSHS Tiger junior varsity and varsity baseball teams were slated to begin their 2020 season March 24 with games at Blue Valley Southwest. The LaRoche Varsity Tournament was scheduled to follow April 2-3 at the LaRoche Baseball Complex in Fort Scott. The FSHS Tiger varsity softball team’s 2020 season was to begin March 31 with a home tournament featuring teams from Spring Hill, Chanute and Ottawa.

The FSHS Tiger varsity boys’ golf team was scheduled to begin its season April 2 in Chanute. The Tiger boys’ junior varsity tennis team began its season against Pittsburg and Chanute March 12 in Pittsburg. The first boys’ varsity tournament, featuring teams from Nevada, Mo., Pittsburg and Columbus, was scheduled to take place March 31 in Fort Scott. The FSHS Tiger track team was slated to begin its season with the Labette County Relays April 2 in Altamont.

Uniontown High School

The Uniontown High School Eagle softball team was scheduled to begin its season by hosting Altoona-Midway April 2. The UHS Eagle baseball team’s first game was slated for April 6 at St. Paul. The UHS boys’ golf team was scheduled to begin play April 6 against the Erie JV squad. The 2020 season for the UHS Eagle track team was slated to start April 7 at Oswego.