A post race hug after Lizzy Stanhope broke the 800m state record at the 2019 Outdoor State Meet
Athletes, coaches, parents and fans alike have been anxiously refreshing their emails and social media feeds after seeing the NCAA news of spring sports cancellations to see how the IHSAA would respond in terms of the high school sports season here in Indiana. Currently the only major cancellation for athletics in Indiana has come with the Hoosier State Relay Finals. The boys basketball state tournament has been postponed with no word on when it is expected to resume. All of these cancellations and postponements of events is related to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Early friday morning, IHSAA Commissioner, Bobby Cox sent an email to member school principals and athletic administration to help provide some insight on what the state of spring sports is right now. You can see the full email below.
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Good morning. In light of
concerns surrounding COVID-19 respective of IHSAA spring sports, I would like
to provide the following considerations and clarity.
-Regular season contests
are conducted at the discretion of our member schools. Currently, the guidance
being provided by the State of Indiana allows for events with less than 250
individuals in attendance to be conducted. Local jurisdiction shall prevail with
regard to whether contests in the regular season are conducted.
-Some schools in our state have closed and will implement
extended break periods. Once students return to school, all provisions of Rule
9-14 - Practice Attendance to Participate in a Contest shall be enforced. This
health and safety measure within the by-laws will not be waived. Should a
previously scheduled contest fall before the completion of said separate days
of practice, the contest must be rescheduled or cancelled.
-A decision on meeting a minimum number of contests to become
eligible for IHSAA tournament series events will be made at a later date.
-At this time, the IHSAA is planning on staging all spring
sport tournament series events as scheduled.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our
office at your convenience.
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While this message comes a sigh of relief to members of the track and field community, please know that things could change at any time and all statements made at this time should be considered tentative and subject to change. We will update as things come in but please keep a watch on the IHSAA website for the most up to date information.
