The Colorado High School Activities Association has formally canceled the spring sports season for the remainder of the school year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision follows Gov. Jared Polis’ announcement Monday that in-person classroom learning would also remain canceled statewide through the rest of the school year, even as the state prepares to transition away from the stay-at-home order and some business closures after next week.
“We have proceeded with cautious optimism, holding on to a thread of hope that the spring season would be able to realistically resume, knowing that the health and safety of our sports communities would dictate our course of action,” CHSAA Commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green said in a statement to member schools.
“It was our hope to be able to create the memories because we understood what it meant to our high school communities — especially seniors — statewide.”
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However, as more than 30 other state high school sports and activities associations have already canceled their spring seasons, the decision was made for Colorado to follow suit.
Since March, Blanford-Green said CHSAA officials have sought advice from state leaders, medical professionals, educational administrators and facility managers to assess the probability of conducting statewide events this spring “in a manner that would uphold safety mandates and recommendations.”
Ultimately, the decisions to cancel the spring season aligns with the state’s new guidelines announced on Monday.
CHSAA convened a meeting of the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee on Monday evening. The group came to a consensus, stating: “It would be impractical and irresponsible for the Association to move forward with a spring season in the next weeks or even the summer months.”
In addition to the spring sports season, including baseball, girls soccer and track and field, CHSAA is canceling all non-sports performances and festivals until June 1 when the academic years ends.
“This decision, unlike the many decisions our office makes over the course of a year, has been extremely difficult because we are personally connected as former participants and officials, current parents and grandparents of graduating seniors, as well as educators and members of our high school communities,” Blanford-Green continued.
Local school districts will be allowed to determine building usage during the remainder of the school year and after June 1.
“After June 1, all decisions regarding student and coach contact, virtual workouts, virtual tryouts and eighth-grade contact will be made at the local level,” the commissioner said. “We continue to maintain that public safety and monitoring of data points must take precedence over the desire to conduct activity and athletic practices, camps, scrimmages or events.”
CHSAA’s attention now turns to preparations for the fall season, including contingency plans for maintaining public safety should they still be needed, according to the announcement.