The Missouri State High School Activities Association has announced that for now, it is not cancelling its spring sports championships. If necessary, MSHSAA said it will move its championships back into June, if schools are still in session and it can find sites to host the events.
Spring Sports
Decisions about spring sports practices and games are left to the local school district, but if schools are shut down, games and practices should be shut down, too, according to MSHSAA. If Governor Mike Parson shuts down schools statewide, MSHSAA said it will mirror that decision by shutting down games and practices.
“We will continue to work with all agencies to monitor and assess this rapidly changing situation. We will continue discuss all options in an effort to complete the spring season at some point if at all possible. We will stay in communication with our schools on a regular basis as decisions are made and information is available,” the statement read.
Non-sports Activities
The MSHSAA statement also notes that the federal Centers for Disease Control has recommended that all events that involve 50 or more people be cancelled or postponed for the next eight weeks. And it said that many host venues, which are associated with now-closed colleges and universities, are unavailable. Because of that, the remaining speech, debate, and theatre championships are canceled, and so are the state solo/small ensemble music festivals. Inability to find sites, judges, and musical accompanists played into that decision.
The fate of the state Scholar Bowl competition is still up in the air. Districts are set for April 18, so MSHSAA is waiting to determine how to proceed.