Tentative restructured spring dates announced

Season would be canceled if campuses are closed for rest of the school year

If schools return to campuses on May 4, the Ohio High School Athletic Association has a plan for spring sports to begin.

A communication first distributed to member schools and later posted to the OHSAA’s website detailed how baseball, softball, track and field, tennis and lacrosse will proceed. Governor Mike DeWine extended school closures through May 1 due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The release noted that if schools are closed for the rest of the school year, Ohio’s spring sports season will be canceled. Additionally, if any tournament sites are shut down due to governor’s orders, all sites will be shut down and a tournament will not be held.

The week of May 4 will serve as an acclimation period for all sports to practice before the spring season officially begins May 9.

After the season begins, baseball’s tournament draw will be held May 17 and the sectional tournament begins May 23. District tournament follow from June 1-6, regional tournaments will be played June 11-12 and the state tournament will be held June 19-21.

Track and field’s tournament draw will be held May 31, then district meets will be from June 9-13. Regional meets are scheduled for June 17-20, followed by the state meet on June 26-27.

The softball tournament draw will be May 24. Sectional tournaments will go on from May 30-June 6, then district tournaments will follow from June 8-13. Regional tournaments will be played June 15-20 and the state tournament will be June 25-27.

Lacrosse’s tournament draw will be held May 25. Regional qualifying begins May 26 continuing through the state semifinals June 8-10 and the state finals on June 13.

Tennis begins the postseason May 30 with the sectional tournament. The district tournaments will be held June 8-13 before the state tournament is played June 18-20.

The OHSAA stipulated that if any type of non-interscholastic participation becomes permitted by the governor’s office and has been occurring, it must conclude by May 4.

The OHSAA also allowed that schools can continue to schedule games until the end of the season. Lacrosse

season ends on June 13. Baseball, track and field and tennis’ seasons end June 27 and softball season concludes July 4.

The mandatory no-contact period remains in place until at least May 1. Until then, no practices or group workouts are permitted.

Coaches are still allowed to stay in electronic communication with studentathletes to maintain correspondence or provide individual workouts while stay-at-home orders are in place to help combat the spread of COVID-19.