NCHSAA cancels remainder of 2019-2020 sports schedule

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association has cancelled all athletic activity for remainder of the 2019-2020 academic year.

The NCHSAA notified member schools on Friday that all spring sports as well as the basketball state championships would not be held. The news came after Governor Roy Cooper announced that all public schools would continue with remote learning for the rest of the school year.

The spring sports season was suspended on March 13 due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Teams had only played a handful of games in the spring season.

“Today’s decision is difficult for the NCHSAA Board of Directors and staff. We empathize with the thousands of student-athletes, especially graduating seniors, coaching staffs, officials and family members affected by this decision,” said NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker. “However, this decision reflects a commitment to keeping our student-athletes, officials and member schools’ staffs and their communities safe while following the guidelines provided by the Governor and his team, along with the Department of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education.

“We had maintained hope for a conclusion to our State Basketball Championships and a modified spring sports season to help return a sense of normalcy to our communities. Mow, as we continue to deal with this difficult time, we must do so by applying the lessons that education-based athletics teaches us: cooperation, patience, sacrifice, responsibility, perseverance and resilience. Together, we will be able to put a ‘W’ in the win column.”

The NCHSAA Board of Directors, in its meeting next week, will discuss finalizing the state basketball playoffs, policies for summer activities as well as address academic eligibility concerns for Fall 2020.