Kansas has postponed high school spring sports with launch a ‘moving target’
Kansas high school sports have already been suspended through Sunday, but that could continue to be pushed back as the coronavirus continues to spread across the state.
The announcement came Sunday and was in accordance with the Kansas Department of Education and governmental guidance, according to a release from the Kansas State High School Activities Association (KSHSAA).
But KSHSAA Executive Director Bill Faflick said the response to the spread of COVID-19 remains a “moving target.”
“Today we went through a matrix of all of the things that are ahead of us that we need to make decisions on, when we need to have those decisions made, what are those factors are,” Faflick said. “Tennis might not have to be decided at the same time as track and field. They compete at different times, and there are different things that you have to consider for each of those activities.”
The Kansas high school spring sports season features baseball, softball, girls soccer, boys and girls track and field, boys golf, girls swimming and diving and boys tennis. This season comes on the heels of the first canceled state championship event in recent history as the state basketball tournaments were canceled.
Canceling state basketball brought a lot of backlash, and the public’s fear of KSHSAA canceling spring sports has already brought its share of emails, Faflick said.
“The fear is out there,” Faflick said. “People are watching what’s going on. The trouble is at some point, COVID-19 is going to have to not just flatten out but diminish in its impact. The timeline for that is not very favorable.
“We are absolutely looking at all options.”
Faflick said KSHSAA is taking in a lot of data points, including what the surrounding states’ activities associations are doing, the governor’s announcements and conversations between Kansas’ superintendents and the department of education.
Another important point of conversation comes March 25-26, when KSHSAA holds an executive board meeting in Topeka to discuss the spread of COVID-19, among other items.
“It’s not like a switch that you flip and it’s gone,” Faflick said. “You know, ‘It seems like you did that with basketball.’ No, not really. We turned the dial as opposed to flipping the switch, and I’m hoping to be able to do that in spring sports as well because we’re taking it a week at a time.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Kansas has postponed high school spring sports with launch a ‘moving target’."