PIAA extends athletics’ COVID-19 hiatus as Gov. Tom Wolf orders schools to remain closed
Pennsylvania’s high school athletes will have to wait in limbo for even longer.
The state’s governing body for athletics, the PIAA, announced its decision to postpone athletics for another two weeks on Monday to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
The decision directly affects the PIAA championships for basketball and swimming, which were originally suspended for two weeks on March 12. Neither the winter championships nor spring sports season have been officially canceled.
“No date has been determined to restart any sports activities at this time,” the PIAA’s release read. “PIAA will continue to receive information from the Governor’s Office, the Department of Health and the Department of Education to provide updated information.”
The announcement came a few hours after Gov. Tom Wolf extended his March 12 order to close all schools for two weeks until at least April 6.
The extension continues to shrink the window the PIAA will have to fit the winter championships and spring sports in before the academic year is scheduled to end. The closure of recreation centers and local swimming pools have made it hard for athletes scheduled to compete in the championships to train and stay in shape for an event that may never happen because of the ongoing pandemic.
“A lot of us are doing things at home to stay in shape,” Penns Valley swimmer Audrey Duck told the Centre Daily Times last week. “Even if that’s just running around in our backyard. But without being in the pool, it’s a long shot to be in our best shape for states.”
An earlier release from the PIAA also prohibited athletes from organizing practices among themselves, which has made even informal team practices for spring sports impossible.
Philipsburg-Osceola baseball coach Doug Sankey said the school closures just over a week ago ensured his program was shut down.
“When we first got the school cancellation, we knew we weren’t practicing,” he said. “I saw a quote from a college coach that said if your school is shut down, your program is shut down. Trying to hold an off-site practice or workouts goes against what we’re trying to do (as a society).”
