Portsmouth is the latest to nix events for winter
Portsmouth Public Schools canceled winter sports Wednesday, citing high COVID-19 numbers.
“After a thorough review of the city’s health metrics, administration has made the difficult decision to cancel all winter sports for the 2020-2021 season,” Portsmouth Public Schools director of communication Lauren Nolasco said in an email.
Portsmouth director of athletics Vincent Pugh said the division needed to decide after the numbers kept getting worse.
“We didn’t want to wait and keep parents and kids in limbo,” Pugh said. “The virus, it’s not getting better and we pulled back.”
Earlier this month, Portsmouth was planning on waiting it out
and trying to get kids on the court, but after Pugh consulted with his athletic directors and coaches, the difficult realization hit.
“We took into consideration what they said,” Pugh said. “It wasn’t worth waiting. Hopefully, we will have some semblance of a fall season.”
While Pugh feels bad for the athletes who want to play, he said the health of the students came first.
“I feel bad for the kids trying to get that last piece of film for colleges, but you can’t put the students at risk,” Pugh said.
Portsmouth is following a trend in Hampton Roads. This week, Chesapeake Public Schools, Hampton City Schools and Newport News Public Schools all canceled winter sports. Williamsburg-James City County canceled winter sports in November.
So far, the Bay Rivers District — without Williamsburg-James City County — and Beach District are the only Virginia High School League districts playing sports in Hampton Roads. Gloucester, which is part of the Peninsula District with Hampton and Newport News, is seeking opponents for a winter sports schedule.
With Portsmouth canceling, 27 school divisions and 61 schools within the VHSL have opted out of winter sports.