By Dave Helmick
TuckerCountySports.Com
CHARLESTON – The High School sports in West Virginia was put on hold starting on March 12th Thursday afternoon at the Charleston Coliseum. Following the conclusion of the third session of the WV Girls’ Basketball State Tournament, play was suspended due to concerns of the coronavirus outbreak. Six Girls’ basketball teams did not get to play their first round quarterfinal games with the announcement. These teams are as follows; Huntington Saint Joseph Central, St. Marys, Pocahontas County, Summers County, Greenbrier East and Martinsburg. The Boys’ Class “AA” Regionals and Boys’ State Tournament was also suspended in the announcement.
Bernie Dolan, Executive Director of the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission said, “We felt the prudent thing to do was suspend the tournament at this point,” he also added, “It’s an awkward time to do it, but the reactions to this virus have been quick and mighty.” This announcement put several basketball teams in a unique situation. The basketball teams(girls’ and boys’) that have not been eliminated are now wondering if they will get to play again this season. That decision is still up in the air and with an announcement made on Sunday March 15th that all extracurricular activities are suspended until April 10th hope is running out on basketball teams.
Spring High School sports are also suspended and in jeopardy of not having a season at all. On Friday March 13th the announcement by the WVSSAC was made to suspend spring sports; Softball, Baseball, Tennis and Track the uncertain statements from the Governor and WVSSAC offices has these spring sport athletes also wondering the future of their High School seasons. Despite no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in West Virginia the Centers for Disease Control announced late Sunday the recommendation of gatherings of 50 or more people in the United States be canceled or postponed for a period of eight weeks.
The whole country is at a standstill in sports also as all major sports is on hold and most NCAA sports have already canceled their seasons totally. As of now we will have to wait and see as these decisions on the high school season are yet to be determined. For now all we can do is wait and hope that these young athletes get to participate in the sports they love.
