Although the viability of winter high school sports in the area remains uncertain, the New York State Public High School Athletics Association did provide some more clarity on Dec. 11, as the organization officially announced that all state championship contests would be canceled for the winter campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was reportedly made after state officials spent several days last week conferring about ways to mitigate risk during the upcoming season.
“When examining the feasibility of Winter State Championships, it became apparent that overnight accommodations would create a unique challenge for our member schools,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA executive director. “At this time, we must prioritize maximizing student participation without a focus on championship events.”
The news comes as little shock to those awaiting further guidance from the NYSPHSAA, however.
The organization made a similar decision regarding state tournaments in the fall, allowing the governing bodies of individual sections to create their own postseason templates. Section I officials, for example, opted to employ a playoff template that emphasized regional play and limited travel between the various counties in the area.
The decision was met with widespread criticism from students-athletes and parents on social media, but some school officials, like former Tuckahoe Athletic Director Austin Goldberg—who currently holds the same position in the Peekskill Central School District—were more optimistic about the new mandate.
“Some may think it is bad news, but I believe it gives us the opportunity to think outside the box to make sure we have a season no longer restricted by the State,” he said. “Along with many of my colleagues, we are committed to getting our student-athletes their experience.”
But even though the NYSPHSAA announcement was in line with the guidelines for fall sports, there are still questions about which sports will even be played this winter. Currently, state officials are permitting winter sports that have been classified as low-to-medium risk to begin practices on Jan. 4, but those designations have left several traditional athletic offerings on the outside looking in. As of press time, only bowling, gymnastics and indoor track have gotten the greenlight from state officials, while sports including boys and girls basketball, ice hockey, wrestling and cheerleading still must wait for reclassification from the state in order to begin play
In a statement released alongside the Dec. 11 announcement regarding winter championships, the NYPHSAA and Zayas clarified that high-risk sports are unlikely to be considered as long as Covid-19 cases continue to rise in the state.
“Without authorization for high-risk sports, we had to postpone and will continue to work on receiving authorization once infection & hospitalization rates have decreased,” Zayas said. “Off-season conditioning activities may occur for high-risk sports, however they cannot involve contact as per NYSDOH guidelines.”
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