A decision may be coming soon on continuation or cancellation of spring sports in Mississippi.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves ordered all MHSAA schools to remain closed until April 20. The governor is scheduled to update the state on April 14. It is expected that Reeves will update the state on the status of school openings or closings at that time, which would have an impact on the future of spring sports and even summer activities.
Mississippi High School Activities director Don Hinton said his association is making plans to continue play this spring if the governor allows schools to reopen.
“We’ll have a drop dead date before long where it’s just not feasible, and it’s not what’s best for our schools and our kids,” Hinton said. “But right now, we just continue to look ahead and be very hopeful. If it could happen, we want to make it happen. But we’ll have to see what the future holds. We will continue to suspend activities as long as our schools are closed. And if our schools are able to open, then we will have some time to determine what to do with sports and activities.”
Here’s an update on surrounding states in the South:
• In Louisiana, the LHSAA Executive Committee approved the cancellation of all remaining winter sports championship as well as all spring sports regular seasons and their respective spring sports championships.
“This decision was not in haste and we discussed with tremendous concern for those senior athletes being affected,” a release for the LHSAA stated. “We realize and concur with the argument about returning to normalcy and allowing seniors to have their moment, just like we did for the boys’ basketball championships, unfortunately, circumstances today are tremendously different then circumstances were that week in March. We understand the hardship and disappointments everyone, especially the class of 2020 is enduring due to the closure of schools facilities, but our unwavering focus must now remain on doing our part by continue to follow any/all mitigation measures set forth by our Governor.”
The announcement, dated April 9, said they would discuss potential permissive summer activities and make proactive plans for the opening of school and fall sports season in 2020-21.
• In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee closed schools and suspended extra-curricular activities, including athletics, until April 24. All spring sports in Tennessee culminate with the Spring Fling state championship event which is scheduled for May 19-22. No decision has been made to postpone or cancel the Spring Fling.
• In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey ordered that all public schools remain closed through the end of the school year, which also ended all spring sports. In a release from the Alabama High School Activities Association, that all athletic events and activities, including, but not limited to, contests, practices, weight lighting and conditioning are suspended until further notice.
• In Georgia, the Georgia High School Association cancelled all GHSA activities for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. According to a release from the GHSA, there have been requests to allow a fifth year of eligibility to students due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The GHSA said there are no plans to grant an additional year of eligibility to any student athletes.
• In Florida, schools are mandated to be closed until May 3 and spring sports activities until that time. According to a March 31 release from the FHSAA, their staff is “working on creative solutions for the continuance of spring sports, which could extend through June 30.” According to the release, if spring sports are cancelled, the FHSAA “is working diligently to create a plan regarding additional eligibility for students who have not been able to participate in spring sports."
