SOSA Staff Report
COLUMBUS — Although it was known to be a longshot, spring sports still had a slim chance to survive early Monday.
However, when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced the closure of the state’s school systems throughout the rest of the school year during his 2 p.m. press briefing, a slim chance became zero to none.
Following DeWine’s announcement, the Ohio High School Athletic Association officially signaled the cancellation of the spring season.
In an email sent to member schools, and one that was provided to SOSA, OHSAA Executive Director Jerry Snodgrass wrote, “As we have stated in our previous communications, today’s announcement by Governor DeWine to close schools for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year also will now result in the cancellation of OHSAA-sponsored spring sports seasons including tournaments.”
Before Monday’s announcement, a delayed timeline had been provided.
In a school administrators update on April 8, Snodgrass wrote, “If schools are closed for the remainder of the school year, spring sports will be cancelled in Ohio.”
Originally, the OHSAA had produced a tentative time plan for spring sports to begin after the May 1 stay-at-home date given by Governor DeWine. That plan would’ve allowed school sports to go through an acclimation period from May 4-8 and begin their seasons on May 9.
According to that timeline, the season would’ve officially ended on June 27.