PIAA winter championships remain on hold
The PIAA winter championships are … still in limbo.
That’s what the PIAA announced Monday in a letter on its website. With Governor Tom Wolf declaring that schools in the commonwealth will remain closed for an additional two weeks through at least April 6 in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, the PIAA followed by saying that winter championships remain on hold.
The PIAA will also postpone the start of the spring sports season, which was slated for last Friday for all sports save for boys tennis, through at least the reopening of schools.
“No date has been determined to re-start any sports activities at this time,” the letter stated. “PIAA will continue to receive information from the Governor’s office, the Department of Health and the Department of Education to provide updated information.”
On March 12, the PIAA had announced a two-week suspension of the winter championships (boys and girls basketball, which had reached the quarterfinal stage, and the postponed Class 2A swimming and diving championships). Dr. Robert Lombardi, the PIAA’s executive director, then deferred a decision on spring sports to local governance, i.e. what schools were able to be open.
Right now, no schools are open, so no sports are being played. Oversight of the basketball tournaments, which involve extensive scheduling and site selection, are more directly under PIAA control.
“As we navigate through this difficult time we need to remember the lessons that interscholastic athletics has taught us: cooperation, patience, sacrifice, responsibility, respect and perseverance,” the letter continued. “We will provide more information as it becomes available to us.”
The basketball tournament was due to contest its quarterfinals Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14, before the suspension of play.