What seemed unthinkable just two weeks ago turned inevitable on Monday when the New York State Public High School Athletic Association officially canceled the rest of the winter sports season.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions the officers of NYSPHSAA have ever had to make,” said Paul Harrica, President of NYSPHSAA. “It has been determined it is not feasible for the winter state championships to be hosted in a safe and beneficial manner for participating student-athletes and their teams in the near future.”
“Our association’s focus is to benefit students through participation in interscholastic athletics and unfortunately this rapidly developing situation has prevented our association from providing a quality championship experience,” said NYSPHAA executive director Dr. Robert Zayas.
“We certainly sympathize for the students who are being impacted by this crisis but at this time they deserve honesty from the leadership of our association.”
When postponements of the remaining NYSPHSAA tournaments were announced on March 16, there were hopes that, at some point, state championships in boys and girls basketball, ice hockey and bowling would get decided at some later date.
But the continued spread of COVID-19 cases across New York State – more than 15,000 at last count with 122 deaths, though most of them are based in New York City – combined with statewide closings of schools and all non-essential businesses thwarted those plans.
Some winter sports, including girls ice hockey, wrestling, boys and girls indoor track and field and boys swimming, were able to complete their respective state championship events in late February and early March.
The following events got wiped out, though:
- Boys Basketball, which was set to have regional finals on March 14 and then the NYSPHSAA championships March 20-22 at Glens Falls’ Cool Insuring Arena. Corcoran (Class AA), Christian Brothers Academy (Class A), Lowville (Class B), Weedsport (Class C) and DeRuyter (Class D) were the Section III champions.
- Girls Basketball, which was supposed to have regional finals on March 14 and its state final four at Troy’s Hudson Valley Community College March 20-22. Cicero-North Syracuse (Class AA), Christian Brothers Academy (Class A), South Jefferson (Class B), Cooperstown (Class C) and Brookfield (Class D) were Section III champions.
- Ice hockey, with the state “Frozen Four” that was scheduled for March 14-15 at Buffalo’s Harborcenter, with Skaneateles and Whitesboro both set to vie for the state Division II championship.
- Bowling, with the boys and girls state tournaments originally set for March 13-15 at Strike-N-Spare Lanes in Mattydale. Teams, including the Baldwinsville boys in Division I, along with individuals were to compete for state honors.
Still undecided, though, is the fate of the spring sports season, postponed in Section III until at least April 14.
NYSPHSAA has made no final decision here, saying on Monday that sections and schools still have latitude about determining start dates and practice parameters that best meet the needs of their students.
In a memo to executive directors of the various sections in the state sent later on Monday, Zayas said that, if a spring season were to take place, emphasis on sectional play would be made and any decision on whether state championships in the spring will occur will not be made until April 27.
